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GOP^i'RIGKT DEPtDSlT. 



THE BOOK OF TRUTH 



THE BOOK OF TRUTH 



BY 

Hon, henry S. GRIGGS 



A REASONABLE FAITH AND THE FUTURE 
RELIGION OF THE WORLD 



Price, $3.00 



For sale by all leading booksellers, news companies, and news stands 

Will be sent by parcel post to any part of the 
United States on receipt of price 



HENRY S. GRIGGS COMPANY 

POST OFFICE BOX NO. 197 
BROOKLYN NEW YORK 



.S72 



Copyright, igi4, by 

Henry S. Griggs 

Brooklyn, N.Y. 



OCT 26 1914 n% 

©C/,A388045 v\ ' V' 



SACREDLY DEDICATED TO 
THE MEMORY OF 

THE MILLIONS OF MEN, WOMEN, AND CHILDREN 
WHO HAVE BEEN CRUELLY PUT TO DEATH 
BY UNGODLY, IGNORANT SEC- 
TARIAN CHRISTIANS 



A poor quality of religion^ and the worship of a live or dead man as a 
Saviour, are the causes of cruel wars. When all the people are taught 
righteousness, and the just worship the real God, the Creator of the 
universe, and only Saviour of the world, wicked wars will cease. 



THE BOOK OF TRUTH 



THE BOOK OF TRUTH 

ADAM AND EVE 

WE DO not have to suffer for the sins of Adam. He had to 
suffer for his own sins, just as we do when we violate the 
laws of nature. Those who make a business of professional 
monetarism use this poem for a selfish purpose. God never goes any 
further in punishment than to let the penalty fit the crime, and never 
punishes one person for the sins of others. It is only Christians and 
wicked people who do that, not godly men. 

Most preachers who read the Bible are careless and fail to do their 
own thinking. A man cannot sin before he is born, or after he is dead. 
If we should tell that story about Adam and Eve to a bright httle boy 
he would ask us if they were babies or full grown when they were born, 
and if they had a papa and mamma; also who planted those fruit trees, 
beets, and turnips in the garden; could snakes talk; who taught 
Adam to write before he was born, and how did they get along without 
a doctor when they were ill? Don't you think that is a snake story? 
If Adam violated the laws of nature by eating green apples and had 
the stomachache, that pain is not transmitted to us and our de- 
scendants for ever and ever. The only pain we will ever have on 
accoimt of Adam's sins is to hear the ministers who preach such non- 
sense. When children are just born, they are not old enough to sin. 
The dogmas of the Church on this subject are too absurd to be preached 
to simple-minded folk. Whether they sinned or not, death passed 
upon all mankind thousands of years before the days of Adam and 
Eve. If there were no laws until the days of Moses, how could they 
have been transgressed? The story of Adam is silly. It is not sin for 
a child if his parents ate forbidden fruit before he was born. A child 
cannot transmit something it never had. 

3 



4 THE BOOK OF TRUTH 

Serpents used to go creeping on their bellies, in other parts of the 
world unknown to the Scripture makers, long before the story of Adam 
and Eve was ever known. No one but a devil would punish billions of 
people for the sins of one man and one woman committed thousands 
of years before they were born. No one but a fool or a pious fraud 
should be guilty of accusing God of doing such a thing as punishing 
the just for the sins of the unjust. It is not right or godly. If the 
writer of this story was inspired, his inspiration must have come from 
the devil. I would not believe a story any quicker if I found it in the 
Bible than I would if I found it in some other book. Truth is truth 
and falsehood is falsehood wherever you find them. God never 
created a full-matured man and woman in a minute; if He did they 
would be only a minute old and would not be accountable for their 
ignorance. 

The sins of Adam and Eve never could have been transmitted to 
their posterity if the sins assumed the form of scarlet fever, smallpox, 
or some other contagious disease. These might have been transmitted 
to mankind provided there were any human beings near enough to 
contract them. The story is a myth unworthy of belief, and those 
who teach it must have had it pounded into them when they were 
children, or they would not believe such nonsense. The transgres- 
sions of Adam and Eve have not been the cause of death to any one. 
China never knew anything about this story until hundreds of years 
after it was written in the Bible, so they did not suffer from it, every- 
thing has gone along as usual, and God has not lost His reputation 
with them because of punishing the innocent for the sins of others com- 
mitted thousands of years ago. 

The material of which mankind was made in the beginning was the 
same as it is now; and it is the same with all different species of 
animals. You may ask where did God get it? He made it, as all 
creators do. Adam was made perfect. He had no rib to spare. 
There was nothing superfluous about him. He was not a monstrosity. 
Nothing but a pig has a spare rib. The material in woman is not all 
rib; she is the equal of man. The only reason Eve ever married 
Adam was because there were no other men in sight. Serpents 
cannot talk now any more than they ever could. God must have 



FUTURE RELIGION OF THE WORLD 5 

been partial to give the power of speech to a vile serpent and not to 
any other of the lower animals. If Eve and the serpent could under- 
stand each other they must have been of the same species, which is 
impossible. 

ASTRONOMY 

We cannot appreciate the beauty of nature and the greatness and 
goodness of God unless we know something about astronomy, geology, 
and the sciences which show His handiwork. The more we under- 
stand God's laws of nature and the things which He has created, the 
more we will love Him and our fellowmen, and the less we will think 
of the dogmas of the Christian religion. The nearest stars to this 
world are about twenty-five billion miles away. Jesus' ignorant 
fishermen used to look at the stars and think themselves larger than a 
thousand stars. If the earth did not turn and the universe were 
motionless, there w^ould be neither days, weeks, months, years, nor 
seasons. What had Jesus to do with this, millions of years before he 
was born? Astronomers tell us that the stars shine by day the same 
as by night, and they give us a reason why we do not see them by day. 
They also tell us what kind of instruments will enable us to see the 
stars. There is no guesswork about this kind of information from 
astronomers. Many of us know that this is true. We also know 
that many things we read in the Bible — which were obtained from 
dreamers, prophets, witches, and from those who said that they had 
visions — are not true or the Word of God. Stars of the first magni- 
tude, such as Alpha, are twenty-five billion miles from us. Sirius is 
forty-eight billions of miles away. In reality it is a sun, born of God, 
larger than this w^orld, and could not be born of woman. When we 
see the clouds carrying the water from the ocean back to dry land to 
sprinkle the earth so as to provide food for mankind, we know that it 
is not mere chance with that being we call God; when we get our 
light and heat from the sun (which is about ninety-three millions of 
miles away, and which varies at times during the year) for the benefit 
of the animal kingdom, we know it is a provision for us from our 
Heavenly Father. It is impossible for comets fifty million miles long 
to go through the heavens at the speed of fifty milHons of miles per 
minute with no being greater than man to guide them. Fear not, 



6 THE BOOK OF TRUTH 

they are only shells compared with this world. If they run into us, 
they will get the worst of it. There is no danger while God is our 
Heavenly Father and the pilot of all the planets. The other worlds 
are made of the same kind of material as this world. This has been 
revealed to us by fragments of the planets which have been found in 
this world. The Star of Bethlehem was only seen by a few shepherds 
called wise men, who knew but little more than the most ignorant of 
their day. No astronomers have ever been able to locate or see the 
Star of Bethlehem. No doubt it is a myth written by the Scripture 
makers for the occasion in about the year A. D. 397, for that is the 
only record of such a star. 

THE PLANETS 

The nearest heavenly body to us is the moon, which is called "The 
Daughter *' because it is so beautiful. It is a distance of about two 
hundred and thirty-eight thousand miles from this earth. That would 
be a long journey for Christ to take in a suit of the gardener's clothes. 
The sun most of the time is about ninety-three millions of miles from 
this earth. We are told that the distance to all the planets is deter- 
mined with mathematical precision. The fact is that none of the 
astronomers agree on the exact distance to many of the planets, some 
of the calculations varying about five million miles. The nearest of 
the stars is at a distance of about twenty-five billions of miles from 
this earth. If we should tell our Christian friends, without an explana- 
tion, that we could see so far as that, they would call us liars, or think 
that we were insane. All of these heavenly bodies are at a great distance 
from the earth; are independent, each of the other, and are immense 
distances apart. We see the extent of the heavens, with millions 
of stars, which are worlds, many of them larger than the earth on 
which we live. Are not these facts enough to convince a sane person 
that there is a greater being than man, one whom we call God? This 
Being we should love and worship in preference to all others. 

The earth is but a planet, the same as many of the stars. The vapor 
of water which rises from the seas, lakes, rivers, and snowbanks is 
condensed into rain and fertilizes the earth. The land in the country 
after a rainstorm in many localities is sometimes covered with frogs 



FUTURE RELIGION OF THE WORLD 7 

and lizards. We know there is a God, and that He gives us the rain 
without the asking, according to His holy laws of nature. If rain 
should fall while you are praying for it, do not be silly enough to think 
it was your prayer that caused the downpour. 

THE SUN 

The sun is only a great star, yet it is the immeasurable vital force 
which distributes life, joy, and happiness over all the world. Without it 
life would not be worth Hving. Let us not worship the sun, but the 
God who made it. Our earth is only a pebble compared with the sun. 
It would take over three hundred thousand worlds like ours to balance 
the sun, which indicates the greatness of our Creator, whom we call 
God. The sun is the mighty source which sets in motion the earth and 
its life; it is the heat of the sun that causes the wind to blow so as to 
purify the air, the river to flow, the forest to grow, fruit to ripen, and 
man to live. The sun is the glory of God and a blessing to His crea- 
tures. 

If there had been no God there would have been no sun and no 
planets. We can see God in the wind, rivers, forests, vegetation, and 
all of His creation without discovering Jesus, or any of his religious 
teachers; and this is also true in science. 

The planet we call the sun is on an average ninety-three million 
miles from our earth. If that should be our heaven, how could we 
reach there while in the body? No one but a Christian could live in 
such a hot climate, or would undertake such a journey without any 
means of transportation. Let us borrow no trouble, for it will not 
take our spirit at the time of our demise one day to reach our heavenly 
home. Neither priest nor preacher can stop us on our way. 

In the year 1633 an old man was accused by the authorities of the 
Roman Catholic Church of committing the crime of publishing a book 
maintaining that the sun stood still and that the earth moved; he was 
condemned and imprisoned for three years because such a statement 
was contrary to Holy Scripture. This indicates what a curse the Bible 
has been to mankind, how the advancement of the sciences has been 
retarded, and shows the unreliability and worthlessness of the teach- 
ings of the book. 



THE BOOK OF TRUTH 



STARS 



Mercury is said to be over fifty billions of miles from the earth. 
As long as God keeps it where it is, so that it does not harm us, we 
need not quarrel about the distance it is from us. Even if some say 
it is billions of miles away or very near us, we should know that it was 
created for our good; for the laws of the universe are God's laws and 
were made by our Creator, whom we should worship as our God. 

GEOLOGY 

The science of geology reveals that the earth is millions of years old 
and that the Bible is false. It is foolish to deny it in the interest of the 
churches. The fossil rocks indicate an immense period of time. The 
shells which they contain are unbroken, and must have been slowly 
deposited, and must have come from the sea with the remains of plants 
and animals. 

It is a great miracle that our Creator was able to live so many years 
previous to the Christian era without the Trinity. If He never missed 
it, no one else should. 

THE TIDE 

God causes the tide to rise and fall every day by the attraction of 
the moon and sun. He makes use of all His planets in some way. If 
it was not for this flood tide, the air in New York City and Boston 
would be impure, and it would be dangerous to live in such places. 

We can see our Creator's goodness plainer in the tide than we can 
by reading what the priests call God's Book, which tells us little about 
this world and less about the next. 

The present indications are that the time will come when the tide 
will rise and sweep sectarianism into the mighty ocean so as to give 
room for reason, progressiveness, and godliness. Then will rise a 
people who will have a faith founded upon truth, investigation, and 
intelligence. 

EVOLUTION 

Some animals originated by evolution, there is no doubt; but man 
originated by creation, and is of a different species from all others, 
just as some of the lower animals are different from all others. Deity 



FUTURE RELIGION OF THE WORLD 9 

does what man cannot do. Men do what the lower animals cannot do, 
and the latter realize it. Why should not men of intelligence know 
more, or at least as much, as the lower animals? Those who do, know 
that there is a greater intelligence than man, whom we call God, who 
created the things which men cannot create. God's goodness and 
wisdom are manifested in all His creation. There has never been 
found a connecting link between man and the lower animals. If it 
ever existed, it would have been found many years ago, and would 
still exist even unto the present time, and would have multiplied like 
any other animal. There are no animals in the world that have the 
reasoning powers of man, or can be taught to read, write, and talk as 
men do. 

CREATION AND DARWINISM 

Man was one of the first animals created by our Heavenly Father, 
and not the last. We are His children and did not come into the world 
by evolution from the lower animals. The lower may come from the 
higher, the same as monstrosities, or horrid beings which have come 
from goats in certain parts of Africa and have been seen by men. We 
cannot breed higher animals from the lower unless we have a higher 
to breed from. Mankind is a distinct species from all other animals. 
It is just as easy for God our Creator to create thousands of different 
species as to create one species from another and be thousands of 
years about it. The man who wrote about the creation of the world 
in the Bible was only a dreamer, and knew nothing about astronomy, 
geology, the animal kingdom, or creation. His story is a fabrication 
for fools, children, weak-minded men, and religious people to believe 
that it is the Word of God because it is in the Bible. 

The caterpillar, a slow-creeping worm, without dying is changed 
into a butterfly, and it has no resemblance to its former existence. 
This indicates that we have no reason to think that our ancestors 
were monkeys because some men look a little like monkeys. Man is 
a distinct species from the ape, as much as the horse is from the cow, 
and does not belong to the same family. It is just as easy for God to 
create a man as a monkey. We cannot breed men from monkeys or 
teach the lower animals to read, write, talk, or invent things as men 
can. 



lo THE BOOK OF TRUTH 

MAN 

If man has existed one hundred thousand years or for only about 
six thousand years, which we are sure of, he was as distinct then from 
other animals as he is now and ever will be. The Adam and Eve 
story is absurd. 

If any of our scientific friends wish to introduce to the public the 
hairy, long-tailed ape as their beloved ancestor we have no objection 
to them doing so, with due respect to the ape; but it is a monkey 
business to try and make men of intelligence believe that their original 
ancestors were monkeys. Man is next to God in reason, soul, and 
spirit; but he is not God — only a nobler and a grander species of 
the animal kingdom of the earth. 

All mankind are of one blood and of the same species. We should 
respect humanity, regardless of sex or color. Be just to all. Love 
the good and try to make the bad better. The superior power should 
come from those who are wise and righteous, so that the strong may 
be educated to protect the weak and helpless for the glory of the 
nation. Man is a distinct order and belongs to a distinct family, and 
his functions have a specific distinctness from all other animals. The 
races of mankind — whether black, yellow, red, or white — are iden- 
tical, except as to features and color, which generally enables us to 
identify every person whom we see frequently. This provision for 
identification could only have been made by a Higher Being than 
man, whom we call our Creator and Redeemer. He is the only God 
and Saviour whom we should worship, and not the dust of the earth, 
even if we get our eyes full of it, for there is no soul in matter. 

The differences of color in mankind to a certain extent are due to 
climate. In a warm, hot climate the people are dark, while those of 
a cold climate are usually much lighter. Men are like vegetables and 
plants — they are affected by the sun and shade as well as the atmos- 
phere. Brook trout caught in the meadow are light colored; those 
in the woods are very dark. God has given the different nationalities 
of mankind different features, and for a wise purpose. Not even if 
his tail is cut off can a monkey or any of its offspring ever become a 
man. We know that a monkey never cuts off its tail, and it is non- 



FUTURE RELIGION OF THE WORLD ii 

sense to think that he would rub it off against the bark of a tree or 
get rid of it by sitting on it so he would become a second Darwin. If 
he did, his offspring would have long tails when they were born, even 
like their parents when they were born. The farmers for ages have 
cut off the tails of pigs, lambs, and dogs, and their offspring always 
are born with long tails the same as usual, which is the law of nature. 
Men and women have had their legs and arms cut off, yet their chil- 
dren afterward were born with arms and legs the same as their parents 
had when they were born. Because rats, cats, dogs, and monkeys 
when subject to exposure will take the same contagious diseases that 
men will is no proof that they belong to the same species. Man is 
the only animal who can be made to believe that Jesus is God. We 
should not think that the original species came from nothing, and, 
ever since, everything came from something. 

God can create an original species now just as well as he could 
millions of years ago. If man was a descendant from a hairy quad- 
ruped with a tail, all of his children would be born with a tail; and 
no lady would be proud of it or have the same use for it that a wild 
monkey has. 

BREEDING MANKIND 

Societies have the right to make laws to govern themselves if they 
do not conflict with the laws of the state or nation in which they 
reside; but they should never have any authority to prohibit di- 
vorced people from marrying godly people and bringing good children 
into the world who will be a blessing to mankind. This is one thing 
God has never given to the priests or preachers. Nor should the state 
or the nation do so. Any class of men who try to make God's good 
children miserable and unhappy in this world are a curse to mankind. 
Preachers, teachers, and all of us who are doing our best to make the 
world better should teach people to be more careful in breeding human 
beings than they are in breeding sheep, cattle, swine, birds, and chick- 
ens, which have no spirits that are immortal. Those who love the 
truth will love our teachings and God, but to those who do not we 
wish no harm. 

The religion that teaches Jesus is God is only the product of the 
human mind. It is nonsense to attribute it to God. Breeding gods 



12 THE BOOK OF TRUTH 

from women is more ridiculous than breeding men from monkeys. 
Christ was visible, and we should not take him for the invisible God. 
Physical surroimdings, environment, or teaching should not be taken 
for revelation. If God cannot create something out of nothing he is 
not God. We must understand. What some call nothing is in 
reality a substance. There is nothing that ever made itself. Many 
of us are willing to admit that religious dogmas are made of nothing 
and that they are generally stored in vacant heads, where storage is 
cheap. 

THE WORLD 

Thousands of worlds were created before the one on which we live. 
The first formation of a solid crust on the earth was millions of years 
ago, and by the slow processes of nature. None of these worlds were 
ever created by men of this world, but by a God who is such a Creator 
that the minds of men are unable to comprehend His attributes. 

In excavations in the United States, Switzerland, and other coim- 
tries, human bones, also implements and tools, have been found in the 
depths of the earth. These facts are conclusive evidence to scientists 
that the Adam and Eve account of Creation is a myth, and that the 
world existed millions of years before Biblical times. 

There are hundreds of millions of stars, and most of them are 
worlds and invisible to us. Why did God create so many worlds if 
in eternity He is not going to make any future Use of them? Do not 
all things in nature indicate a Supreme Infinite Being and a greater 
hereafter for the souls of men than we can comprehend? The soul 
is made of the substance of God, and will live with Him in eternity. 

The world can be made better if those who are giving their money 
to the cause of preaching sectarianism would give it to the cause of 
teaching the laws of nature such as what we should eat and drink, how 
we should take care of the body and nurse the sick, and what persons 
we should marry so as to bring into the world healthy children who 
will not be a curse to themselves or their parents. Those who are 
the most competent to teach these things are the doctors, trained 
nurses, and others who are specially educated for these purposes. We 
should establish industrial schools to instruct children how they can 
become self-supporting and earn a good, honest living without steal- 



FUTURE RELIGION OF THE WORLD 13 

ing, begging, or praying for it. Children should be taught to be just, 
righteous, and godlike so as to lengthen their days in this world and 
develop a spirit which will be acceptable to God. 

This w^orld was made for man, not man for the world; and we 
should not be deprived of any of its godly pleasures. It is the priests 
who ask us to make sacrifices and bow our faces to the dust of the 
earth; and it is always for their sake, for God never gets any benefit 
from it. Our Heavenly Father created all good things in this world 
for our enjoyment, and He is just what the earthly father and mother 
should be. Godly parents want their children to be happy, wise, 
just, and righteous, and get all they can out of this world in a godly 
manner, and be a blessing to humanity. 

When some of the priests, preachers, and newspaper pubHshers 
and their supporters are against you and are with the monopolists 
and grafters, forsake them and cling to the God of Creation, our only 
Saviour and Redeemer, in Whom we should trust. Always patronize 
those who are righteous to the common people and godlike, and you 
will not be swindled. 

The world revolves around the sun, not in an upright position, but 
at an angle of about twenty to thirty degrees, which causes fall, spring, 
summer, and winter, and different length of days and nights. If it 
was not for this wise provision of our Creator there would be no way of 
measuring time, and no seasons to produce food for God's creatures. 
If we have the sense of a horse we can see the goodness, greatness, and 
wisdom of God in all of His works. 

Why will you worship idols made of silver, gold, or wood, or worship 
gods born of goats or women? We know that some have been led 
astray by bad preaching and teaching. In the name of God I bid 
thee arise; break the chains of ignorance and slavery of the mind; 
be a man, and God will bless you, and you can provide better for your 
family in this world. God will comfort you in the hour of death and 
receive you in His kingdom prepared for the spirits of the just for all 
eternity. 

OUR CREATOR 

When we see large gunboats we know there was a maker. When 
we see a large city we know there were builders. When we see this 



14 THE BOOK OF TRUTH 

world, the sun, moon, stars, and clouds, we know there is a Creator. 
We may not be able to see the trees, fruits, grain, and vegetables 
grow, but we know they do. While in the flesh we are not able to see 
God, but we know by the things which we have seen that there is a 
greater being than man. One whom we call God. We must wait 
patiently until the baby is born before we know whether it is a boy or a 
girl. This is God's way. We shall have to wait until the death of 
the body before we will know our destiny. If there is anything de- 
veloped in the body worth saving, what we call the spirit, God will 
save it. There are millions of worlds besides the one in which we 
live. God is not neglecting his business on Sunday — all the ma- 
chinery of the heavens is always running as usual. God has never 
stopped creating; neither has he run out of material. The ways of 
God — bringing birds, beasts, reptiles, and human beings into the world 
— are the same now as they were when our world was created. He 
did not make any exception in the case of Jesus. In some cases, 
such as chickens, men are doing some of the work the hens used to 
do; but they cannot produce the eggs, which have the germ of life. 
There is no more germ of life in a dead man than there is in a 
dead chicken or dog. The body of all animals is of the earth; 
when they decay they soon return to the dust of the earth, and 
there is no more life in them than there is in the mud and rocks of 
the earth. 

The book of Genesis says God made the beast after his kind and 
cattle after their kind. If there were none at that time, there couldn't 
have been any kind. Thus the heavens and earth were finished. 
The man who wrote this poem saw only a little of this world. Many 
of us do not think this world is finished, but there will be something 
to be done for some time to come before everything is completed. 
We should know that the world has existed for millions of years, or, 
at least, that God did not make it in six days and has been loafing 
ever since. The author of Genesis knew little about geology or 
astronomy. If this book is the Word of God, He knew no more about 
His creation than the author did. Man and woman are created of 
the same material; neither at birth is inferior to the other; but there 
never was enough material in the rib of a man to make a woman. If 



FUTURE RELIGION OF THE WORLD 15 

there were, a woman would be all rib. It is wicked and a sin against 
women to teach children such absurdities and ungodliness. 

We are unable to estimate the greatness, goodness, and wisdom of 
our Creator and his loving kindness to mankind. We can get better 
ideas of our Heavenly Father from scientific books than from the 
Scriptures, whose writers knew but little about creation, God, man- 
kind, or anything else, except selfishness, ungodliness, and the sins 
of men. The laws of nature tell us about the attributes of God. The 
books of Moses make God out to be about the same as Moses and 
his followers, who were murderers, confiscators, and robbers. The 
preachers have the impudence to call the writings of the books of 
Moses the Word of God. All that can be said in their behalf is to 
express the hope that God may open their eyes, and reveal the truth to 
them and have mercy on their miserable souls. With me it is much 
easier to believe that some of the writers of the Bible were liars than to 
believe that God ever violated His laws of nature or committed crimes. 

The world has been a world of law and order since its creation. We 
have no reason to think that it will ever be otherwise. Celestial 
space is unlimited. We know there must have been a beginning 
millions of years before the days of the story of Adam and Eve — 
that some parts of the world were well populated thousands of years 
before that story was written — but man is unable to fix the exact 
date, which is immaterial, or the end, when time and space will be no 
more. It is enough for us to know that we are soon to leave this 
world and leave all our sickness, troubles, trials, and afflictions be- 
hind. We depart to be with those who have gone before, and not to 
worry about when time will be no more. 

It is a mistake to think that God made only one creation for all 
eternity, finished the job in six days, and has made no creations since, 
or that he set the planets in motion thousands of years ago and has 
paid no attention to them since. As long as there is a Creator he will 
create. Matter is perpetually changing during life and after the 
death of that which has life, but God is the same yesterday, to-day, 
and will be for all eternity. The honeybee and the ant could not 
have acquired such great instinct as they have in any way except from 
their Creator. 



i6 THE BOOK OF TRUTH 

Inanimate things such as gold, silver, rocks, images, trees, and 
bones were worshipped in the Dark Ages because by so doing people 
thought they would have good luck — as weak-minded, superstitious 
people think now. When people became more intelligent they 
worshipped the sun, moon, and stars. The Jews worshipped an 
invisible, spiritual, creative power. We worship the God who created 
the sun, moon, and stars, and that is the power behind the throne, 
which was before any of the worlds were, and will be for all eternity. 
In this God is our only hope of immortality. 

GOD 

There are thousands of things which indicate the existence of a 
Supreme Being whom we call God. If we are wise we can see them 
everywhere, even without prayer. If we are blind we can realize the 
existence of God when we breathe the air; if we are tired we should 
appreciate our sleep, and by our rest we should know that God has 
provided for us. It is impossible for us to see the things which exist 
as they are without knowing that there is an intelligence greater than 
man's, a creative power not possessed by mankind, and a love which 
comes from above. The spirit or soul, as far as man can see, is the 
mind, the faculty of thinking and reasoning. It is the only thing by 
which we can communicate or talk with men or God. We cannot see 
it any more than we can see the unrevealed God, but we know it 
exists. It is the same substance as God, and by the grace of God, its 
Creator and Redeemer, will live separate from the body after the 
latter is dead. Bodies die, but spirits fliy. Those who preach that 
Christ is God should thank Christ for the bountiful harvest and all of 
the blessings we have received from our Creator. But it would be 
just as reasonable to thank any other dead man as it would be to 
thank Christ for blessings which come from our Heavenly Father. 
The deeds of sorcerers and miracle-mongers are fraudulent and are 
deceptive. God is a spirit and His kingdom is spiritual, and it is 
accessible only to spirits. It is easy to see the things with our mind 
which we have seen before with our eyes, but very difficult to see in 
our vision the things no earthly being ever saw and which are of the 
heavenly kingdom. The Word of God is only another name for the 



FUTURE RELIGION OF THE WORLD 17 

Wisdom of God. To accuse God of writing all the foolish things in the 
Bible is a libel, and no one but liars should do it. When we are in 
the presence of God what use have we for a dead Saviour to show us 
the way? We need no priest to find Him for us. There should be 
no priest between man and wife nor between man and God. If we 
have the love of God in our hearts we can go direct to Him the same as 
Jesus did* We should not make a mistake and worship a human 
creature instead of our Creator, as the Christians did in the sixteenth 
century, when they murdered men, women, and children by the mil- 
lions in the name of a false religion. God never gave of Himself the 
spirit of a dead man or a spook called the Holy Ghost, for He is still 
alive and is not made of that kind of material. God is no more in 
Christ than He is in others or in me. Let us hope that no one will 
ever see enough God in us to teach that we are God. No one but a 
child or a fool will stick their fingers in the fire and burn them and 
then blame God for it. God, our Creator, should have all the credit 
of His attributes which are claimed by religious teachers who are 
nothing but men. 

There is no intelligence in the printing press or any machinery, 
yet they may do the work all right. The intelligence is in the men who 
made and now run the machinery. So it is with the sun, moon, stars, 
and all the planets. The intelligence is in the Being who created all 
things, whom we call God. 

Most every nation and tribe have their God. The Jews call theirs 
Jehovah, the American Indian call their supreme being the Great 
Spirit. Some of the other names given to the supreme being by 
different nations are Zeus, Brahma, Odin, Osisis, Baal, Ormuzd, Belus, 
Allah, and Jupiter. They all mean God, our Creator and Redeemer. 
Some Christians and poor ignorant beings worship Gods of flesh, stone, 
and wood. 

Our God must be one of mercy and forbearance to have allowed 
those to live who accused Him of promising them the land of others 
round about them. Often after their armies had taken others' lands 
and cities, killed the inhabitants and confiscated their cattle and 
everything they had for their inheritance, they pretended to have 
done these things in the name of the Lord. Our God is not such a 



i8 THE BOOK OF TRUTH 

monster as the writers of the Bible proclaim Him to be. Murderers 
and robbers who accuse a just God for the crimes which they have 
committed are not fit to live. The Scripture makers and preachers 
who defame the character of God and call their Bible holy, so its 
readers will believe it, are not what they should be, and are unworthy 
of support by godly or Christian people. All the commandments 
God ever wrote will be found in the laws of nature and in the spirit, 
mind, reason, and intelligence of His children. We can see His com- 
mandments everywhere without making a single prayer. 

When you go to the depot and are about to take the lightning 
express for the coast, if you are informed that the train has no engineer 
or fireman you had better take the next train, for, if you take the first 
one, you are just as apt to land in hell or somewhere else as San Fran- 
cisco. Do you think that all the planets of the heavens have been 
running like lightning for ages without an accident? That there is 
no God to guide them? Does not your reason tell you that there is 
a greater being than man? Believe in the God of Creation, and you 
will realize your expectations. How can matter exist without a 
creative power? If there was no such creative power there would be 
no sun, moon, stars, or worlds like ours. We should represent God 
and be careful not to misrepresent Him, as so many of the leading 
characters in the Bible have through ignorance and a lack of reason. 

The sun, moon, and stars have existed for millions of centuries, 
and did not come into existence by mere chance. None but a God 
can create such things and provide food and clothing for mankind. 
We cannot make wool grow on a sheep's back; neither can we make 
cotton, flax, grain, or produce grow in the earth. All we can do is 
our part and God does His. The woman who cooks your food, 
washes your clothes, cleans your house, and takes care of you when you 
are ill does much for you. The priest who prays for rain, beer, or 
bread, your health, or soul, does nothing for you except that he re- 
lieves you of some of your money and makes you feel good for the 
time being. Whiskey will do that, but either the priest or whiskey 
is prone to bring you to want and misery. How can we expect that 
God, with His unerring wisdom, love, and justice will reverse His 
decrees and change His laws of nature because we pray that He will 



FUTURE RELIGION OF THE WORLD 19 

to satisfy our greed and selfishness. When we have more wisdom than 
God, we can expect Him to grant our supplications and not before. 
Obey His laws and we shall avoid the penalty which results if we vio- 
late them. 

If there had been no Supreme Being, God our Creator and Ruler, 
there would have been no worlds to be governed. Inunortality is no 
dream, but a reality. The spirit of a dead man never enters the 
grave; if it did that would be the last of it. God is something more 
than man or the spirits of men — He is Life, a Being of intelligence, 
reason, mercy, love, and righteousness. He is not the sun, moon, or 
stars, but the Creator of all these things. Until the makers of lan- 
guage find a better name, let us call Him ^^Life and Life Eternal," 
*^Our Heavenly Father and Creator,'' for He is what He is — our 
God. The speed of His coming is like the rays of the sun. It cannot 
be measured. He is too great to be seen or comprehended while we 
are in the flesh. God has given us instincts to hear, see, smell, touch, 
so we can understand, reason, and talk to each other. These are 
things Buddha nor Christ cannot give us. 

Ignatius said that the Eucharist was the body of Christ, a medicine 
of immortality, an antidote to death, giving eternal life in Christ. 
According to Mother Eddy, you do not have to take her medicine, 
which is prayer, only believe in it and you are healed in the body and 
have eternal life. This is a pill easy to swallow for weak-minded 
people. I warn you to beware of quacks. It is far better to love 
and worship God than a corpse or the spirit of a dead man. God still 
lives. He never was crucified or born of a woman whom He created. 
The great mistake for ages has been God's people taking men such 
as Confucius, Buddha, Mohammed, and Jesus, for God. Why do you 
take flesh and blood or the spirits of dead men for your Creator and 
Redeemer and expect to have church unity? Such unity is impossible 
when the only true God is left out. God is wise enough not to reveal 
to us all of our future trials, troubles, sorrow, and afflictions on the 
day of our birth, or all the joy, pleasure, and blessedness in eternity. 

We should be thankful for the blessings and benefits we receive by 
the sun and moon. It is the sun that gives to us light and warmth 
and quickens vegetation. It is the moon that causes the tide to take 



20 THE BOOK OF TRUTH 

out to sea all of our filth and decayed matter from the seaports of our 
great cities. There is no other way to account for these provisions 
than that there is a Being whom we call God. He does for His chil- 
dren the things which they cannot do for themselves. It is men who 
pretend to be gods and make their own gods, but it is God who makes 
men and is the Creator of all the worlds and the only Redeemer of His 
children. There is no doubt in my mind that the God of Mahommet, 
Confucius, Buddha, and Christ is the God of Creation. They all 
state this. It is their followers who are trying to make gods of them 
in the minds of men. 

We think there may be many Gods, but they are not like Christian 
churches, each denomination disagreeing with all others. They are 
one in spirit, subtance, and unity. We are not living in a spiritual 
planet, and know but little about the spiritual world. God allows 
men to rule this world, subject to His laws of nature, and if we do not 
live out the days of our natural life it is not God's fault, but ours or 
the fault of some other persons. Never renounce the world because 
some one did who lived in Bible times and knew but little about it. 
Remember God made it and the most of it is good. If any of it is 
bad it is made so by bad people. Worldly things were made for our 
enjoyment. We can be good without spending our days in idleness 
and prayer when we should be at work trying to make an honest 
living. We should be as happy as possible and try and make every 
one around us happy. It is only pious frauds and devils who try to 
make us unhappy. 

We can see God in the snow 

Long before we see the wheat grow; 

We can see God in the air 

Which makes us feel Hke offering prayer; 

We can see God where'er we dwell 

Except that unknown place called hell — 

If God is there, all is well — 

With Him we are willing to dwell. 

We leave our friends here in prayer, 

And go to meet our friends there. 

THE CHRIST GOD 

When there is a bountiful harvest of fruit, vegetables, wheat, corn, 
and all other products of the earth, what did your God, Christ, have 



FUTURE RELIGION OF THE WORLD 21 

to do with it? Nothing whatever, because he is not God any more 
than we are. He cannot make the fruit or grass grow, or the flowers 
blossom, or water the earth, or make the sun shine. The man who 
takes some other human being for God, his Creator, is a bigger fool 
than he who says there is no God. The things God does are those 
which man cannot do, and many of the things that man does God 
would not do because He is God, and it is the duty of man to do these 
things. Jesus was only a pretender. To let the murderer and robber 
go unpunished on account of the merits of Christ is ungodly. The 
judge who does it is partial and unfit for the place which he occupies, 
and should be removed from the bench. God has no favorite chil- 
dren. He is as good to His bad children as He is to His most godly — 
because He is just. 

When a white woman has a white husband and gives birth to a 
negro child no one but a fool or a Christian would believe it was con- 
ceived by the Holy Ghost, or the story of the birth of Jesus, which is 
no more reasonable, or that he is God. 

MIRACLES 

The days of saintly miracles and the supernatural never were and 
never will be. All things are according to the laws of nature and 
reason — except orthodox religion. It was not prayer that put out 
the fire of the burning building, but water; and those who were present 
saw how it was done. It is natural for some of the Scripture makers 
to lie, but their so-called miracles are unnatural and untrue, and, like 
the black arts, when we understand them, they are as simple and as 
natural as any other trick. The most of those who make use of them 
are frauds. If the devil performs miracles at will, he will be a devil 
still. Common sense generally points toward the truth, and miracles 
will not prove the doctrines of Christianity when we only have the 
word of the Scripture makers. 

Most of the scientists of the present time refuse any place for 
miracles in nature or history, and think that the supernatural of the 
past is fiction. 

Things called mysteries which are contrary to reason are absurdities. 
We should have sense enough not to take dreams, tricks, myths, or 



22 THE BOOK OF TRUTH 

stories for miracles. God never has to perform miracles so that His 
children will believe in Him. It is the ungodly who have to do these 
things, so that we will worship them. Godliness does not rest or 
depend upon miracles. Most of the miracles recorded in the Bible 
are fiction, and if they were in any other book very few would believe 
they were true. They are just as likely to be historical frauds as 
facts. If the truth was all known about the New Testament, Chris- 
tianity would be considered a very poor substitute for godliness. The 
Christian Church is builded upon the sand, God's floods of reason in 
due time will wash it away. Although we can hatch chickens without 
hens, we cannot produce the eggs, or babies without men and women. 
Associating the birth of such men as Buddha, Confucius, Mohammed, 
and Christ with the miraculous or supernatural manifestations is 
ridiculous, and they are used to catch weak minds that have no reason. 

Most of the miracles in the days of Christ were myths and manu- 
factured by the Scripture makers after he was dead, and are not re- 
corded in any book except the Bible. We would call them nowadays, 
when they are not plainly due to natural laws, illusions, magic, super- 
stition, absurdities, or impossibilities and productions of the human 
intelligence. Miracles are violations of natural laws. If Jesus came 
into the world as recorded in the Scriptures, after his death came to 
life again, arose from the dead, and went to heaven in the flesh, he 
did that which has been impossible ever since the creation of mankind. 
God speaks to us through the laws of nature, the history of the ages, 
our reason and intelligence, and tells us that this story is not true. 

The belief in miracles has been common in all ages before the birth 
of Jesus. When one class of people wanted to make others believe 
something which was not true a few tricks or stories generally accom- 
plished the object. 

GOD STILL LIVES 

God never was crucified; if He had been His people would be god- 
less. The finite cannot destroy the infinite. His cause needs no 
martyrs to defend it in His kingdom. It is not God's way to make 
men godly by the use of the gun, sword, or burning stake. These have 
been the ways of Roman Catholics and ungodly men who worshipped 
images, idols, and gods of flesh and blood. We should not expect the 



FUTURE RELIGION OF THE WORLD 23 

impossible of God, for He cannot make a sweet sixteen-year-old girl 

in a second; if He did she would not be sixteen years old. God leaves 

that kind of business to men and women, and allows them to take 

their time about it. We misjudge the sick when we attribute their 

afflictions to sin against God. It is nonsense even if we read it in 

the Bible. We should always believe in God and in His laws of 

nature in preference to the writings in any book, even the Bible. 

What godly man has the presumption to call the Bible infallible and 

God's only Holy Book? 

god's power 

An infinite God has power to save all His children without com- 
mitting murder, violating His laws of nature, or bringing into the 
world one of His dearly beloved children without a natural, earthly 
father, to be murdered by crucifixion for being a sinner and a violator 
of the laws of His country. God is not a political or religious trickster 
who gets into a tight place and has to violate His laws or commit 
murder to get out of the tangle. He is our Heavenly Father. Thieves 
and robbers cannot trust an honest man in their kind of business. If 
they have one among them they get rid of him, even if they have to 
murder him. So it has been with some of the orthodox churches 
with the men they called heretics, whom they know are righteous and 
godly; but they also know these men will preach God's truth and 
give His messages to the people. So these monetary sectarians con- 
sider them dangerous to their business and expel them from the church 
so as to crush out religious liberty within their society, not knowing 
that God sometimes uses men who are called infidels and heretics to 
teach men to think for themselves and to advocate religious liberty, 
as well as to inform His people that He is not a God of cruelty, but 
of love, mercy, and toleration. That which is printed in the Bible was 
written by men and not by Him, and when He has messages for His 
children which priests and preachers refuse todeliverHe has togetgodly 
men whom they call heretics to perform these services. These so- 
called heretics are always willing and ready to do His bidding even if 
they have to sacrifice their lives to please their only God and Redeemer. 

There is nothing made without a maker; neither is there anything 
created without a creator. We can see God's goodness in the sun, 



24 THE BOOK OF TRUTH 

moon, stars, seasons, showers, winds, tides, light, darkness, moun- 
tains, valleys, and everything on the face of the earth which indicates 
a higher intelligence than man and a spiritual life in eternity. 

god's requirements 

God does not require us to be Methodists, Quakers, Catholics, or 
any other kind of Christians to have eternal life. It is only narrow- 
minded bigots and sectarians who preach such absurdities. All God 
requires of us is to be just, righteous, and godlike. A particular kind 
of belief will not save our life on the battlefield in this world or the 
next. A just God is more apt to condemn those who teach His chil- 
dren an ungodly belief for a selfish object than those who are foolish 
enough to believe it. We know God speaks to men through nature, 
history, and experience. Sometimes through men when they tell 
the truth, but never when they tell that which is not true. Ministers 
and priests should remember that God requires of them to preach 
godliness in His name, and not in the name of any religious teacher 
who is born of woman and a distant relative of Adam and Eve. 

God requires no penance, suffering, mortification, or sacrifice to 
appease Him. It is the proud, haughty priest who requires these 
things so as to keep you in subjection and your nose to the ground. 
God wants us to stand up like men of intelligence and do our own 
thinking, at the same time caring for the poor, sick, needy, and 
affiicted. He is able to take care of Himself. It is not offensive to 
the Deity for us to enjoy ourselves. Be happy. Have a good time 
and make those around you happy in a pleasant, godly way. We 
must adapt our ships to the sea or rivers we intend to navigate, our 
clothing to the temperature of the weather, our food to the capacity 
of our digestion, our sleep to the requirements of the body. If we 
obey the laws of nature we shall lengthen our days. If we disobey 
them our lives will be shortened. Exercise of the body will give it 
strength, and prayer is no substitute for any of these things. 

MANY GODS 

In the Heavenly Kingdom there are more Gods than one, but all of 
the same spirit, substance, nature, and godliness. No single species of 



FUTURE RELIGION OF THE WORLD 25 

life exists alone in any world; if so, it would be lonesome and unnat- 
ural. How could one God talk to all mankind at the same time and 
keep the wheels of evolution going in all the worlds except through na- 
ture's general laws and the spirits of the heavenly host, which aremany. 
If we have hurt the feelings of those who have only one God or those 
who worship the Trinity or who differ with us in any of the writings 
in this book, we ask them to grant us the same religious liberty that 
we do them. We wish them no harm. Our intentions are good. If 
the message is new, investigate it and see if it is not true. God is 
like the air we breathe or the wind which we cannot see, yet we have 
its effects, and God's creations which prove His existence. 

WORSHIP GOD 

The truth as we see it in nature and the operations of an infallible 
God, our Creator, should be strong enough evidence to persuade us 
to worship the only true God, and not be lead astray by priests or 
teachers who ask us to worship an idol born of a woman. We can 
worship God wherever we are. He does not require us to go to Rome 
or hell for our religion or to worship Him. If we go to either place it 
is by our own free will and not by His command. 

It is no sin for a man to worship his mother, as such, or his wife as 
a wife, for this is natural; but to worship a man born of a Virgin as 
his God is ungodly and unnatural. 

The Gentiles worshipped men as gods. The Christians are follow- 
ing in their footsteps by worshipping the spirits of two dead men as 
gods. 

WORD OF GOD 

History tells us that a few Christians got together and by a majority 
vote called the New Testament the ''Word of God." If they had 
voted to call it the ''Word of the Devil" it would not have made it 
so or changed it from what it is — the word of men. The evidence 
of all men is worthless unless we know their character. It is for us to 
decide whether we will believe God or the writers who accuse Him, 
indirectly, of violating His own laws of nature and making mistakes 
and not finding them out until thousands of years afterward, then 
rectifying them for our sake and the sake of the priests who would 



26 THE BOOK OF TRUTH 

have had to work for a living if He had not done so. We should 
always observe the difference between evidence and opinions so we 
will be able to find the truth and know the only true God by His 
attributes without seeing Him. If we were in the likeness of God all 
men would look alike and we might make a mistake and take a devil, 
or a man who looks like the devil, for God. 

'^That whosoever would not seek the Lord God of Israel should be 
put to death, whether small or great, whether man or woman.'' II 
Chron., 15:13. 

When ministers preach and teach that this is the Word of God and 
the Bible which contains it, their hearers should give their spare 
money to the poor and needy and let them pick their own living 
among the butchers or work for it. There is no sin greater than 
misrepresenting God, our Creator, and misleading dying humanity 
or inducing men to murder others without just cause. God never 
died; He still lives. It was Christ who died and was buried in the 
earth, and there his body remains. If Christ is God why did he say 
that no one ever saw God at any time. Why did he tell us, when we 
pray, to say: ^^Our Father Who Art in Heaven," if he is our Creator? 
God's word is truth whether we find it in nature or anywhere else. 

god's wisdom 

Our Heavenly Father is too wise to reveal to mankind a beautiful 
spiritual life after the death of the body, and all His secrets to His 
children in this world. He expects us to live out our natural days 
in this world and develop a spirit worthy of eternal life. He does 
not offer us any inducement to shorten our days here on earth. We 
should bear our troubles, trials, and sorrows like brave, godly soldiers 
who expect their reward in the great hereafter where there is no sorrow 
or afflictions. God brought us into this world helpless and we shall 
be helpless when we go out of it. He provides for us while we are 
here. Why should He not when we depart? We know there is one 
God in whom we trust, but in the spiritual world there may be many, 
and if we are His children we may all be Gods. The things which 
are revealed belong to us, but secrets belong to God, our Heavenly 
Father. 



FUTURE RELIGION OF THE WORLD 27 

god's laws 

God^s Bible, God's Word, and God's Laws are the laws of nature. 
We do not have to know how to read or write to understand them. 
God does not violate them. If we do, it is the violation of the law 
which is the cause of our afHiction and suffering and not God. Bad 
men can make good laws and often do, then violate them as Moses 
did, for he was a murderer and robber and one of the worst butchers 
that ever lived, according to the Scriptures. Then after his death he 
was called by the priests God's chosen leader and lawmaker for all 
mankind. 

Prayer has nothing to do with lengthening our days, excepting, 
sometimes, to make us good and obedient to laws the same as to 
other instruction. The surgeons, physicians, and men of science 
know more about God's laws than the priests and ministers. The 
doctors and surgeons relieve us of pain and sickness and cure our 
diseases, the priests and ministers console us as we are and relieve 
us of our ready cash. 

God's laws are enforced in this world by the laws of nature. The 
penalty is self-inflicted by the violation of the law. Men's laws are 
enforced by men who make them or are appointed for the purpose; 
there is a penalty for the violation of those laws. They may be 
just or unjust, according to the righteousness of those who make 
them. 

All the rivers run into the sea and the water returns to the places 
from whence it came by means of the sun, clouds, and God's laws of 
the universe, which are no mystery to God and are blessings to His 
creatures. No one but a fool would think thousands of things like 
this were not provided by some Being greater than man, whom we 
call God. 

WHO MADE GOD? 

God or the Gods are self-creative, existing powers, which were 
before the world was, are now, and ever will be — many in substance 
but one in spirit, unity, and nature. God is not of the flesh. His 
children should not be misled by priests. There are billions of 
cases which substantiate and confirm the truth and contradict false 



28 THE BOOK OF TRUTH 

claims which are recorded in the New Testament. Men can He, 
but nature cannot. God will not; so for us, we are with God, nature, 
the truth and that which is just, righteous, and godlike, and every- 
thing that will make the world better. 

We should be willing to leave our spirit after the death of the body 
with God who created it with a faith which is as bright as the sun 
and as glorious as God Himself. 

THE REAL GOD 

God has spoken to us through our instincts, reason, and His holy 
laws of nature, as well as through the history of the world, saying: 
'^I am the Lord thy God.'^ The Scripture makers, who afl&rm that 
the birth of Jesus, his curing of all manner of diseases, his raising of 
the dead, and his resurrection of the body were miraculous, were 
ignorant sectarian liars. 

God never violated His holy laws of nature. He is the same now 
as He ever was, and He will be the same forevermore — the God who 
created the heavens and the earth, our only Redeemer and Heavenly 
Father, who is willing and able to give us life abundantly and for all 
eternity. 

Christ was a great, noble, and brave man; but like all human beings 
he had his weaknesses and did not have the power and ability of the 
God who created us. He is not responsible for the sins of others in 
using his gospels to do a monetary business, nor is he to be condemned 
for butcheries done in his name. 

GOD IS GOD 

God is the only Being who could have given us life in this world 
and who can give us eternal life in the great hereafter. 

Why do you beheve Jesus is God? Is it because he was hated by 
the rulers of the earth for his godly teachings and was crucified by the 
Pharisaical priesthood, and many of his disciples put to death in the 
most cruel manner? If you are a hero worshipper, worship Jesus as 
your hero; but remember there are thousands of heroes who are 
not Gods. If you are a godly worshipper, worship God as your 
Creator and Redeemer. God gives us sufficient reason to know 



FUTURE RELIGION OF THE WORLD 29 

what He requires of us. If He did not, how could He expect us 
to worship Him? He requires us to adhere to reason, use our 
senses, and study His laws of nature to avoid suffering, and be as 
happy as possible. 

No good father wants his children to make themselves miserable 
for his sake. God is our Master, and not the priest, preacher, or 
Scripture makers; and if they have any bitter pills to take, let them 
do the swallowing and not attempt to cram them down our throats. 

god's bible 

If God had written the Old Testament there are many things in it 
which He would have left out. He would have disapproved of the 
horrid murders and robberies committed by Moses and the Jews in 
the Dark Ages, and he would have condemned slavery, polygamy, and 
all of the ungodliness of the Jews in such a manner that all reasonable, 
godly people would have understood Him. He would also have 
omitted all of the historical portions which have caused future gene- 
rations to be more wicked. The following you will find in Job 19: 
25-27. 

^^ After worms destroy this body, yet in my flesh shall I see God." 
I think not. The history of the past, our own knowledge, and God's 
laws of nature say no. The dust of the earth has no eyes and dead 
bodies cannot see. Those who have received messages from God 
and refused to deliver them to His people because they conflicted 
with the dogmas of their church should know that it is better to 
obey God than man if they ever expect His blessings in eternity. 

IMAGE OF GOD 

No one ever saw God at any time. How do we know that we are 
created in the image of God? Is it because some old pious fraud 
thought that he looked like God, or because some one who did not 
know as much about God as we do wrote it in a book thousands of 
years ago? It is an impossibility for a spirit to look like a man in the 
flesh or for a man to make an image of a spirit which has never been 
seen by any human eye. Those who do not use the reason which God 
has given them will never be able to take the place of a machine 



30 THE BOOK OF TRUTH 

which has no reason, but which, nevertheless, separates the chaff 
from the wheat because the man who invented the machine had 
reason. 

GOD AND GODDESS 

The attributes of God are in the laws of gravitation, nature, atmos- 
pheric pressure, the wind, and all the planets, and these attributes 
fill the heavens and the earth with His blessings, which are showered 
upon His creatures without price. This should be convincing evi- 
dence that there is a God, our Creator, and a Goddess, our Heavenly 
Mother. None of us came into this world motherless. It is the 
mother's care, and not prayer, which consoles us in the hours of 
affliction with a godly love from a Goddess above. 

GODLINESS 

Christ is the same kind of a lord as they have in England, nothing 
but a man born of woman and made of the same material — the dust 
of the earth. It is strange that an infinite, unchangeable God for 
thousands of years did not know that we needed a Christ in this 
world to save us in the next, because He was getting old and unable 
to do so. A few of the Jews got together and selected one for Him. 
Then a mob of the same nationality crucified him, and have not been 
able since to select one that suited them, so they have been doing their 
business for about nineteen hundred years direct with God, their 
Heavenly Father, and have been getting along very nicely, suffering 
only from robbery and murder committed now and then by Christians 
in Russia and other places in the name of a poor quality of Chris- 
tianity. When we meet godly people we know they are just and 
righteous because there is only one quality of godliness, and it is 
always good. 

GOD SAYS FEAR NOT 

The murderer and robber shows us a revolver and says '^ Hands 
up; your money or your life!" Some of the preachers picture to us 
a hell of burning brimstone and say about the same thing in other 
words: ^^Down on your knees and believe in the Lord Jesus Christ 
and be saved! Believe not and be damned!'' The great and good 
God who made us says: ^^ItisI; be not afraid. Keep your money. 



FUTURE RELIGION OF THE WORLD 31 

They have no power to destroy the spirit. Be good, and with me you 
will forever dwell, for there is no hell." 

god's blessing 

We cannot live without food and water; neither can we create 
them. We have to depend upon a greater power than man's. All 
things are created by God, or made by man. All nations and tribes 
who have a language or a dialect have a word which indicates this 
Being we call God. We can see His wisdom and goodness in His 
creation everywhere. We can see His love and kindness to mankind 
in the sun by day, and in the darkness by night; also in the wind, 
heat, cold, and rain which produce fruit and vegetation for His 
creatures. We should all have the reason and intelligence to be 
thankful for these bountiful gifts which come to us without asking, 
or without the prayers of priests. Blessings come alike to the just 
and to the unjust from a just and impartial God. The things which 
are revealed should be known; but those things which are not re- 
vealed are better for us not to know until the time comes when God 
thinks it is expedient to reveal them to us. 

NOT god's fault 

God never approved of human slavery, polygamy, murder, robbery, 
or of any sins whatsoever. He suffered these things to be done 
thousands of years ago, as He does now in this country. But woe to 
those who are guilty of the crimes. Many of the writers of the Bible 
knew but little about God or righteousness. They wrote what they 
wanted to and God did not interfere with them any more than He does 
now. They used to commence their writings by saying: ^^Thus 
sayeth the Lord," or ^^God spake these words saying," so the people 
would believe them and allow themselves to be kept in subjection. 
The ministers are trying to do the same now when they force their 
dogmas down the throats of the people by a statutory provision. In- 
asmuch as these dogmas in regard to Christianity are not true, but 
ungodly and contrary to God's laws of nature and reason, they should 
be resisted in the name of God, who has no substitute in the form of 
man born of woman in a legitimate, or any other way. 



32 THE BOOK OF TRUTH 

God never gave to Christ or any one else the power to kill or punish 
the spirit of His children. He never makes mistakes. He knows 
without witnesses what kind of a spirit each of us has. The dogmas 
in the Bible as adopted by the churches were written by ignorant 
sectarians, and if we are to accept these dogmas we cannot help think- 
ing that God must have made a mistake when He brought all of us 
into the world wicked and sinful — because we are descendants of 
Adam. Then after thousands of years God, by chance, apparently, 
discovered His mistake, but not until millions of His children had 
gone to the devil. In order that He might be able to save the rest 
of His people, He brought one baby, and only one, into the world 
without sin to grow up to be a man and become the scapegoat for 
all the sins of the world. This man was crucified by his own people 
as a violator of their earthly laws, and was buried in the earth for 
three days, but by mistake he was taken out of the tomb ahead of 
time — while there was a chance to do this without discovery. No 
one ever knew where he was finally buried. The theologians tell us to 
believe in him as they preach him unto us, and be saved. After 
scores of years of investigation we find that the resurrection of Christ 
as recorded in the Bible is a myth. A dead Messiah is no substitute 
for a live God, a Heavenly Being, and not an earthly animal who has 
returned to the dust of the earth. 

god's money 

God's preachers and agents should take all money offered to them 
by millionaires or others if it belongs to God, and ask no questions 
or insult the giver. Take the money and use it for a godly purpose. 
Of course, if we find the rightful owners we should return the money 
to them. Those who refuse such offerings must be old Scribes or 
Pharisees and think they are more godly than others, and have not 
heard from God within two thousand years. 

When men will give up their wealth for God's cause it is the best 
kind of repentance, and God will accept it through all of His godly 
agents, who will use it to provide for His children and make them 
better and develop their spirit so it will be fit for His heavenly 
kingdom. 



FUTURE RELIGION OF THE WORLD 33 

GODLINESS 

It is no sin to be rich, if we get our money honestly, and make good 
use of it. Neither is it a sin to wear good clothes and live in a good 
house or to look ahead and provide for the future. There is no re- 
ligion which secures salvation by the intervention of a priest, for 
priests have no supernatural functions or power to admit or keep us 
out of God's kingdom. That power is with God and He cannot be 
deceived. He knows all things from the beginning to the end. It 
is godliness to expose error and reveal the truth. Among those 
whose dogmas we condemn are some of our dearest friends, but we 
do it with a love which comes from above, though it cuts like a thou- 
sand-edged sword, so that the cancer may be removed and the patient 
may live. There can be no shedding of human blood in godliness 
except in self-defence. 

THE DEATHLY SICK 

There is no doubt that many people have lost their lives by the 
prayers and visitations of a Christian minister at a critical time when 
life hung in the balance, simply because the ministers told these sick 
people that they had conformed to all the requirements of Christ, 
and the doors of heaven were open to receive them. The ministers 
pray to God to spare their lives and restore them to health, if it be 
in accordance with His will. This "will" business should be left out. 
It has a very bad effect upon the patient, who holds his breath or stops 
breathing, lies down and dies without making a struggle to retain 
life, thinking death is the next thing on the programme. 

My friends, by all means, when your dear ones are at the point of 
death, let this kind of minister pray at long range where it will not 
be heard by the sick one, and call a council of physicians, and do 
your own praying to God that the means used may be successful. 
It would do no harm to call in a Christian Scientist to cheer up the 
patient, and it would be a dollar well invested, in some cases, and 
would give courage to the sick one to make an effort to live so as to 
comfort their dear ones on earth. Many ministers pray as a matter 
of form, while the Christian Scientist sometimes prays as a matter 



34 THE BOOK OF TRUTH 

of business, and the latter have the faith and tenacity of a bulldog, 
and that is what is needed in most cases. Where the faith-cure quacks 
will have nothing to do with the case unless you discharge the doctor, 
you should show them the door, for that indicates that the devil and 
the mighty dollar are their gods. It is well to be wise, have faith in 
God and your doctor, and let the devil take the rest and the cure-alls. 
If we expect to save the life of our dear sick one we must use all the 
means God has placed in our power — the right kind of food, good 
nursing, and a doctor of wisdom and experience. Do your part and 
God and nature will do theirs without any of our prayers, just as 
cheerfully as our earthly mother or father. The only object of prayer 
should be to thank God for the means He has placed in our power. 
Never expect of God anything you can do for yourself. The Spirit 
of God which enters the mind, the soul, the intelligence, and the im- 
mortal part of man is always at your service if you are ready and 
v/illing to receive it. The mind has an influence over matter. If the 
mind is crazy the body will be crazy and unaccountable. Above all 
things keep the minds of the sick ones cheerful and hopeful. Let 
them know that their mothers cannot spare them and that they must 
make the struggle to live for their parent's sake. If you expect to 
keep them with you for a few years longer, at the turning-point you 
must not persuade the spirit to leave the body by proclaiming the 
joys of heaven and the pleasure of meeting the angels and loved ones 
that have gone before. If you do the dear sick one may stop eating, 
drinking, and hoping, and soon pine away and die, to be with God, 
if it is His will, for all eternity. The right kind of prayer is harmless 
for the sick in their presence when they can bear it, and it will give 
them courage to fight the battle for an extended life — thus the 
medicine will have a better effect on the patient. It is important 
that the sick should have faith in the physician and find encourage- 
ment in the prayer. If you expect your dear sick one to recover you 
should not allow any of those old, pious frauds to see the patient. 
These people usually pray that the sick one may recover if it be in 
accordance with God's will, and state that their only hope is in Jesus. 
That kind of a prayer will discourage the patient and the medicine 
will not have the desired effect, the patient gives up the struggle for 



FUTURE RELIGION OF THE WORLD 35 

life at the most critical point and dies, when his life might have been 
saved after passing the point of danger. Care is better than prayer. 

It is important when you are very sick to have confidence in your 
friends, so as to keep the mind in good condition. As far as prayer is 
concerned, it will help those who pray to gods of stone or wood or 
snakes as much as it does those who pray to Christ. It will have the 
same efifect upon the mind; but it is nature which effects the cure, if 
there is one. The doctor can assist nature and relieve us from suffer- 
ing, and the prayer of the Christian Scientist to save the body has a 
good effect upon the mind. The prayer of the minister for the saving 
of the soul and for preparation for death has a bad effect upon the 
mind, and any beneficial effects of medicine are nullified. 

The priests claim that they have the same power that Christ had 
to cure the sick; but there is no reliable evidence that they ever had 
any power to cure those who had a fatal disease or to open the eyes 
of the blind, cause the deaf to hear, or to raise to life those who were 
dead. The only way we can account for the cures of Christ is that 
the writers lied; it is not the function of religious teachers or of God 
to cure bodily diseases. That should be left to men of science, ability, 
and experience. Nature always does her part whenever she is given 
a fair chance. The Apostle St. James says if you are sick call in the 
priest. I say unto you, in the name of reason and common sense 
call in the doctor. He is God's man to assist nature and save the 
body; trust in God to provide for the spirit. 

IMMORTALITY 

We know that billions of dead bodies of men for the last f ovir thou- 
sand years, and many more since the creation of the world, have been 
buried in the earth and that they are still there. If the spirit is dead 
and is still a part of the body, when the body dies it is no more. If 
the spirit never dies there can be no resurrection, for it always lives, 
like the rays of the sun when it leaves us to shine on the other side 
till the coming morning. In reality we leave the sun. No one ever 
saw a dead spirit or a live one; but we know there is a live one in the 
living. When the spirit leaves the body the house is empty an,d is 
going to decay; but the spirit still lives. There is no resurrection 



36 THE BOOK OF TRUTH 

for those things which have no germ of life. We should not expect 
it or be silly enough to preach it. We cannot put the spirit of a dead 
man in the tomb. If we roll away the stone we will not find the 
spirit there, but only the body which developed it. 

The coal and wood in the furnace cannot reason. When they are 
consumed there is nothing left but a substance called ashes. Is it 
possible it is so with man who can reason and think? We know that 
reason can leave the body even when it is alive and the man is insane. 
Why cannot reason leave the body at the moment life in it is no more 
and live separate from it in the spiritual world with God who created 
it? Whatever our lot is, let us rejoice that we came into the world, 
and try to be happy when we go out of it. God has provided for us 
wool, flax, and cotton for clothing; grain, fruit, and vegetables for 
food; coal, gas, oil, gold, silver, and thousands of things for our com- 
fort here, and we can trust Him to provide for us in eternity because 
He is God, our Heavenly Father and Creator. 

The seed of the sunflower, which is the germ of its life, liveth after 
the body, which we may call the roots and stalk, is dead. Is not 
the soul, the germ of life of God's children, more precious to Him 
than that of the sunflower? 

All pains of the body are conveyed to the soul; but there are no 
pains in a dead body, neither are there any in a live soul out of the 
body, for it is in eternity, where there are no pains or sorrows. We 
know there is something in man besides matter; something which 
loves, thinks, talks, reasons, and reflects. This is the inner man, the 
spirit, which is an attribute to our Creator. 

ANIMALS 

Animals are not supposed to know anything about immortality, 
yet there is no positive proof that they do not. They mourn the loss of 
their young and so do the birds. They protect their young and care 
for them as a mother does her child. We do not think they pray for 
their daily food, but work for it the same as men should. They know 
their friends and their enemies much better than some of us. The 
lower animals are excited by the same emotions that excite us. Al- 
though these emotions cause the muscles to trembLe and the heart to 



FUTURE RELIGION OF THE WORLD 37 

palpitate, this is no reason for thinking that man came from the lower 
animals. A dog is jealous of his master's affections and has a desire to 
be loved the same as girls have. Many birds and animals have better 
instincts than men, but they have a limited power of reason. The 
intelligence of animals differs essentially from that of men. They 
cannot talk, nor have they the inventive ability of men. Their in- 
stincts are greater than man 's. We can teach them to be good and 
love us. 

Veterinary surgeons and trainers know by experience that they can 
make some animals less vicious or even good by science and kind- 
ness; but prayer has no effect on them anymore than it does on a 
dead rat. What is true of the animal kingdom, to a certain extent, is 
true of man. Remove the cause, whether it is need of food, shelter, 
clothing, or proper environment, and you will generally prevent 
the crime. Godliness is not something to catch like the mumps 
or the itch; it is something to acquire which will make us better, 
and those around us more godlike, so they will have more pleasure 
in godliness that in deviHshness. God has provided for us over one 
hundred and twenty millions of vegetable species of which man has 
knowledge, and three hundred thousand species of animals. There 
is but one human species, which is man, and it is as distinct from the 
ape as the horse is from the cow. 

WAS BEFORE THE WORLDS WERE 

None but impostors and foolish sectarians should be expected to 
preach the nonsense called doctrine that Buddha and Jesus existed 
before the world was created. If so, where were they and all the rest 
of us? Meeting-houses, according to the same silly theory, were 
before they were made. The bricks were in clay, the lumber in nuts 
or trees, stone in rocks, nails in ore, plaster in stone and sand, roof in 
slate or mines, carpets in sheep and goats unborn, the Bible in old rags 
and wood pulp. Everything existed in some form. Such dogmas 
and arguments used by preachers show the weakness of their cause. 
By using them they may be able to catch ninnies and fish without 
brains. Men of intelligence should not swallow such bait or support 
thpse who preach it. God is our Creator and the only being who was 



38 THE BOOK OF TRUTH 

before any of the worlds were. Accept Him as your God and eternal 
life is yours. 

THE OLD TESTAMENT 

Biblical writers in the days of Moses knew nothing about the heavenly 
bodies as the astronomers do at the present time. They had no 
scientific instruments that would reveal to them the mountains on the 
moon, one of our nearest planets, or the spots on the sun. The laws 
of gravitation were unknown. God will never reveal to us facts which 
we have the ability to find out for ourselves. Men 's mental powers 
are like the muscles of the body. They are only developed by using 
them. Those who want intellectual enlightenment about the heavens 
or the earth will find it useless to look for it in the Bible for it is not 
there; but it is in nature everywhere. The Scriptures say: ^^ God said 
to Saul, when thou hast subdued the Amalekites leave none of them 
alive, but pursue them through every age, and slay them, beginning 
with the women and the infants." Is God a murderer? or are those 
who call the Scriptures the ^' Word of God'' liars? The writer takes 
pleasure in defending God. 

If the writings of the Old Testament are complete, what use have we 
for the New Testament? If men are led and ruled by the Spirit and 
God speaks to men through men to-day the same as he did thou- 
sands of years ago, why should we not have a Bible up to date? 
God is not old enough to be deaf and dumb. Spirits never get old. 
Do not think it strange if we are giving the world new Scriptures 
which are of a later revelation than the New Testament, and should be 
of equal authority with the others, wherewith they are true. It is 
God's will that the mistakes of the past ages should be corrected, so 
that His creatures may reap the harvest of peace, joy, godliness, and 
eternal happiness. The author of this book may not be very good, 
but he is not wicked enough to say to the world : ^^ Let him that preach- 
eth any other gospel than that of mine be accursed," for that is sec- 
tarianism and not godliness. Yet it is held by the mother church to 
be Christianity. 

The Old Testament is not as good a book as the Protestant Episco- 
pal prayer-book, for in the latter we shall not find as many obscene 
writings, histories of tortures^ debauchery^ and ungodliness, but we 



FUTURE RELIGION OF THE WORLD 39 

shall find that which is fit for the young and the old to read, and which 
makes mankind more godlike. It is our duty to defend God even if we 
have to denounce some things in the Bible which are not true and 
misrepresent the attributes of God. The people in the days of the 
Old Testament did not know much about the attributes of God or 
they would not have made burnt offerings or sin offerings or com- 
mitted the crimes which they did in the name of the Lord. The only 
ones who reaped the harvest of the offerings were the priests, who are 
more sensible nowadays and receive silver offerings. If the writ- 
ings of the Old Testament do not make infidels of men there is noth- 
ing that will. 

MOSES 

Moses said unto the Lord: ^^ Wherefore hast thou affiicted thy ser- 
vant that thou lay est the burden of all this people upon me ? '^ (Num- 
bers II :ii.) God never afflicted any one. If we have affiictions it is 
not God's fault. What a Moses to take God to task and make Him 
give an account of himself ! A devil could not have had more presump- 
tion than Moses did. Only ungodly, sinful men lay all their troubles 
to a loving God when they were caused by the sins of others. The 
cutting of the body in a surgical operation to cure or prevent disease 
may have the desired effect, but it will not make men godly or give 
them eternal life, even if it is one of the laws of Moses. 

We honor the judgment of Christ and St. Paul in repudiating this 
law, which is just as much the law of God as Moses' other laws called 
the Ten Commandments. If any of the laws of Moses are effective 
now it is not because they are God's laws; it is only because they are 
good laws. If the Christians who preach Christ as God had been 
Moses ' subjects he would have killed them. 

Moses was not a worshipper of idols, and he believed in God, but 
had a very poor conception of righteousness. Historians claim that 
the commandments of Moses were written in the seventh century 
A. D., thousands of years after Moses was dead. That may account 
for there being in them more godliness and righteousness than there 
was in Moses, who said: ^^ Leave none of your enemies alive when you 
have conquered them. I have also obtained your laws by divine 
suggestion." This is the same old Moses, the robber and butcher 



40 THE BOOK OF TRUTH 

who the Christians say made their laws before there were any Chris- 
tians, so they had no opportunity to object to them. Josephus says 
the law of Moses is ^' if a damsel be convicted of having been corrupted 
before she married her husband let her be stoned because she did not 
preserve her virginity till she was lawfully married; but if she were 
the daughter of a priest, let her be buried alive. '^ What would have 
been the fate of the Virgin Mary if she had lived in the days of Moses, 
called by some God's lawmaker? 

If the Bible is true, Moses was a butcher of babies, children, mothers, 
a debaucher of daughters, a wicked wretch, and a plunderer. His 
army killed his neighbors, confiscated their property, and gave their 
daughters over to the soldiers to keep alive for themselves. This is 
the character of the man whom the ministers preach handed down 
to us the holy laws of God, and expect us to believe it and pay them 
for preaching it. We should have sense enough not to squander our 
money for a cause like that. Godly men should preach against the sins 
of Moses, and not misrepresent him by reading in church a few of his 
good laws, which he borrowed from others, and not say a word 
about his bad laws, which represent the real character of the man, 
who was a real devil if there ever was one on the face of the earth. It 
is the duty of all the godly preachers to defend God against the un- 
godly writings of the Scripture makers and the claims and wicked lies 
of all wretches like Moses. 

Moses had no conception of the size of the world in which he lived, 
nor did he know that the stars were worlds. He also had a very lim- 
ited knowledge of the attributes of God; but God did not have much 
to do with him. If He had He would have made a better man of 
him. Moses commanded the Levites to massacre without distinction 
twenty-three thousand of their brethren because they worshipped 
the golden calf; or, in other words, because they were ignorant 
and wanted to be religious and worship a god. No such wicked 
devil as Moses could have been one of God's ministers or makers of 
commandments for the world. We should have more than his word 
for it before we forsake God and worship a devil. The laws of Moses 
are no more binding upon us because they are Moses ' laws or any one 's 
laws than the laws of China which were made six thousand years ago. 



FUTURE RELIGION OF THE WORLD 41 

'^I am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the 
the children unto the third and fourth generation of them that hate 
me. ^' (Deuteronomy 5 :g.) This is not the Word of God, neither does 
it represent His character. God is impartial and just as kind in this 
world to those who are ignorant and do not beheve in Him as He is to 
those who do. 

God ^^ wrote them in two tablets of stone and delivered them unto 
me'' (Deuteronomy 5:22). This is a lie. Spirits do not write. This 
old butcher, Moses, who made the laws for his people told them they 
were God's laws so as to keep the people in subjection. Moses 
often used his reUgion for an ungodly business. He was worse than 
the Czar of Russia, and was not fit to live with godly people. Those 
who call all of his laws the laws of God and preach that the crimes 
which he committed were done by the command of God are unfit to 
teach godliness and should be driven out of the Christian church to 
save the ship from sinking before it is too late. 

COMMANDMENTS 

The Laws of Moses 

^'li thou buy an Hebrew servant, six years he shall serve; and in the 
seventh he shall go out free for nothing. If his master have given him 
a wife, and she have born him sons or daughters, the wife and her 
children shall be her master's, and if the servant shall say I love my 
wife and my children; I will not go out free; then his master shall 
bring him unto the judges, and his master shall bore his ear through 
with an awl, and he shall serve him forever" (Exodus 21:2-6). 

These are some of the laws of Moses the Scripture says, and ^^ God 
spake all of these words. " When ministers preach that these laws of 
Moses are God 's laws and the Word of God they are not fit to live in a 
civihzed community. The idea of God being in favor of slavery, 
cruelty, and making such laws as these is absurd. 

Moses never looked to God to execute his laws. Moses and his 
people used to do that. 

"He that curseth his father or mother shall surely be put to death. " 
If the ox was bad Moses used to have him stoned to death, and in some 
cases his owner was also put to death. "Thou shalt not suffer a 



42 THE BOOK OF TRUTH 

witch to live" (Exodus). These are the laws of Moses just as much 
as the Ten Commandments, and are what the orthodox preachers 
call God's holy laws. God never made such laws as these. They 
were made by Moses or his people the same as the laws of any nation, 
by its people without any interference from God. A just God never 
makes ungodly laws. The laws of Moses misrepresent the attributes 
of God, and it is not right for us to send our children to a Sunday- 
school where they teach such ungodliness. 

"Ye shall not afiflict any widow or fatherless child; if you do, I, 
Moses, will kill you with the sword" (Exodus 22 122, 23). This was an 
earthly law; it had nothing to do with heavenly laws or eternal 
life. The penalty was too great for the crime and never approved 
by God. 

Rest the seventh day. The Sabbath was a day in which to be re- 
freshed (Exodus 23:12). It was not considered a day to go to church 
or a day for worship — only a day of rest. 

Six days may work be done, but the seventh is the Sabbath of 
rest, holy to the Lord. "Whosoever doeth any work in the Sabbath 
day, he shall surely be put to death" (Exodus 31:15). None of the 
laws of Moses have anything to do with us any more than the old laws 
of China and Japan. The Sabbath of Moses and his people is Sat- 
urday, and not Sunday. If these laws of Moses are God's laws and 
are just, for God never makes any other kind of laws, all of the 
Christians who work on Saturday should be put to death. If any 
nation should enforce the laws of Moses, the Christians would stop 
preaching the so-called holy laws of God made by Moses. The 
Christians are not as bad as Moses was, for if we work on Sunday 
they do not kill us, but only put us in the penitentiary. 

God gave to Moses "two tables of stone, written with the finger of 
God" (Exodus 31:18). This is a lie, for God is a spirit and has no 
fingers and never was in the tablet or writing business. We have not 
the word of Moses for this, only the Scripture maker, and God only 
knows who he was. Moses asked God to "repent of this evil against 
thy people, " and the Lord repented (Exodus 32:12). How ridiculous 
it is for Moses, the old murderer, robber, grafter, and fraud, to ask a 
just God, his Creator, to repent. Moses had no more authority to 



FUTURE RELIGION OF THE WORLD 43 

commence his writings by saying '^ Thus saith the Lord God'' than 
I have. Moses had about three thousand ignorant people slain in 
one day because they made gods of gold (Exodus 32 127-28). The old 
butcher's orders were for every man to slay his brother, companion, 
and neighbor. The old brute claimed it was done by the orders of 
God. We cannot condemn God on such writings as these, for no 
one but a fool could. The Scripture makers' God must have been the 
devil, judging by his deeds. 

The Scripture says the Lord spake unto Moses saying, ^^ Speak unto 
all the congregation of the children of Israel," which means that the 
laws of Moses were only for the Israelites and no others. Because the 
laws of Moses were made by men does not indicate that they are all 
bad laws; even bad men can make good laws. Those obscene laws 
of Moses are just as much the laws of God as the Ten Command- 
ments. There is no difference, according to the Scriptures, for the 
writer says: '^ And the Lord spake unto Moses, saying." Christ and 
St. Paul did not believe in all of Moses' laws or that they were the laws 
of God or that they were good laws and binding upon us. If they 
had, there would have been no Gospel of Jesus Christ which caused 
the slaughter of millions of human beings in the sixteenth century; 
but it was not God's fault. 

They found a man gathering sticks upon the Sabbath day, and 
they brought him unto Moses, ^'and the Lord said unto Moses, the 
man shall be surely put to death," and they stoned him and he died, 
^^as the Lord commanded Moses" (Numbers isth chapter). There 
is no doubt that Moses had him put to death for gathering sticks upon 
the Sabbath day; but we do not believe that God had anything to do 
with Moses making such wicked laws or murdering this man, or that 
Moses' laws are God's laws just because this old brute says they are. 
Moses himself should have been put to death for violating his own 
laws, because he committed murder and then blamed God for it. 
The devil must have been Moses' lord, if he had any, which is 
doubtful. The teachings of Christ condemn Moses and all "others 
like him for ungodliness. If the good laws of Moses, the Ten 
Commandments, were made by God, so were his wicked laws, 
for we have the word of Moses for it. God was the same then as 



44 THE BOOK OF TRUTH 

He is now, and He does not interfere with the laws of men in this 
world. He leaves it to them to make good or bad laws and holds 
them accountable to Him. 

Moses' laws were made by Moses for his people and no one else; 
they are not binding upon us, because they are God's or Moses' laws. 
Many of them existed before the days of Moses. God is not re- 
sponsible for the good or bad laws of Moses any more than He is for 
those of the nations of the earth, which have their own laws, at the 
present time. The followers of Buddha were not such bloodthirsty 
devils as those of Moses or the Roman Catholic Christians of the 
sixteenth century. Buddha was opposed to the shedding of blood if it 
was possible to avoid it. God does not require us to worship Buddha, 
Christ, or any other religious teacher, but to be just. 

Without doubt the five books of Moses were never written by him, 
but were, like the Apostles' Creed, written long after his death. If 
Moses had been alive at the time the theologians wrote the books of 
Moses he would have had them stoned to death for saying so many 
bad things about him. Moses did not write the book of Deuteronomy, 
for it gives the particulars of his death and age — one hundred and 
twenty years. The book states they wept for him thirty days, which 
we think was thirty days too long. The character of Moses is one 
of devilishness and ungodliness, is likely to make the world worse, and 
misrepresents the attributes of God and His righteousness. 

MOSES THE BUTCHER 

Moses and his people slaughtered innocent babies, butchered sick 
and helpless men and women, confiscated all their property, made 
slaves of some of them, and gave their pretty women to their soldiers 
for immoral purposes. Then they tell us that they did it at the com- 
mand of a righteous God. Surely they must have been crazy or a 
lot of murderers, robbers, thieves, liars, and vile, wicked men. The 
ministers who believe them must have had bad teaching in a theo- 
logical college or do not do their own thinking, or they would under- 
stand better the attributes of God. Such ministers are not fit to 
preach godliness in any godly church in a civilized community, yet 
they might fill the bill and be of good service to a wicked king in a 



FUTURE RELIGION OF THE WORLD 45 

barbarous kingdom who keeps his subjects in fear of him, of God, and 
of the devil for his own selfish purposes. 

^^ If thy brother, the son of thy mother, or thy son . . . entice 
thee secretly, saying, Let us go and serve other gods . . . thou 
shalt surely kill him. Thine hand shall be first upon him to put him 
to death . . . and thou shalt stone him with stones that he die" 
(Deuteronomy 13:6-10). 

This is one of the laws of Moses and the so-called Word of God that 
the priests and preachers say nothing about when they tell us the laws 
of Moses and his commandments are the laws of God. When a 
minister preaches this to be the Word of God he calls God a murderer 
and should be put into the penitentiary or the lunatic asylum where 
he could do no harm. Moses was one of the greatest men of his day. 
Many of his laws are just; but he had his faults, like many of us. He 
did those things which he ought not to have done. Let us hope that 
he did the best he knew how under the circumstances, and that he 
made the world better than it was at the time of his birth, and that 
his goodness was greater than his badness. 

MOSES AND EVIL 

'^This our son is stubborn and rebellious, he will not obey our 
voice; he is a glutton and a drunkard. And all the men of his city 
shall stone him with stones, that he die; so shalt thou put evil away 
from among you; and all Israel shall hear, and fear'' (Deuteronomy 
21:20-21). 

This is one of the commandments of Moses, The preachers do 
not mention it as one of God's holy laws or the Word of God. The 
teachings of Christ condemn such laws as this. Christ's way is not 
to murder the ungodly, but to try to make them godly by teaching 
them righteousness, as all godly people should do. 

Moses and his people used to have a whipping post. They were 
not allowed to beat any one more than forty lashes. Now the suc- 
cessors of Moses and the whipping post have concentrated in the 
little state of Delaware, U. S. A., where no one would be allowed 
religious liberty if it were not for a higher power (the National Govern- 
ment) and many of us would have to keep out of Delaware. 



46 THE BOOK OF TRUTH 

MOSES AND JOSHUA 

If the preachers believe that the laws of Moses and Joshua are the 
Lord's laws and the Word of God, to be consistent they should ad- 
vocate that we should follow in their footsteps and enter the terri- 
tories of all the weak nations round about us, kill all the men, women, 
and children, and take possession of their houses, lands, cattle, and 
everything that is theirs. 

None of us should allow our children to be taught such ungod- 
liness, and we should thank God and mankind that sectarians are 
not the rulers of this glorious country of ours, and see to it that they 
never become so by the votes of our republic. 

Joshua said, ^^ Divide the spoils of your enemies with your breth- 
ren.'' God does not divide spoils or commit crimes, but thieves do. 

MOSES AND WOMEN 

Women are not made for men any more than men are made for 
women. What is sin for women is sin for men. Women are foolish 
to squander their money by giving it to men to preach that they are 
inferior to men. Moses used to have women killed for acting accord- 
ing to nature, but used to let men go free for the same offence because 
they were men. Yet he had no scruples against giving women 
prisoners to his soldiers for an immoral purpose. If Moses' laws are 
God's laws, the preachers should follow in his footsteps. If reports 
are true, some of them do and are not fit to teach godliness. But 
the sins of the guilty do not condemn the innocent. God will nevet 
punish us for the sins of Adam or Moses. No one but ignorant 
Christians would think of doing such an ungodly thing as that. If 
we do not believe in the teachings of our preachers we should not 
encourage them with our support. 

DANIEL 

The story of Daniel is only an allegory, or, as some call it, a fable, 
and misrepresents God's laws of nature. Men cast into the midst 
of a fiery furnace could not escape without being burned. Lions will 
kill and eat a godly man just as readily as they will one who is nasty 



FUTURE RELIGION OF THE WORLD 47 

and ungodly. Daniel had a good story to tell the wicked king who 
worshipped images about his dream which the king had forgotten. 
Witches, dreamers, sorcerers, astrologers, magicians, and those who 
have visions were just as much in the fake story business in the days 
of Daniel as they are now. Did you ever think how many things 
you believe that you consider true because you find them in the Bible? 
If you had read them in some other book and they were not in the 
Bible you would not believe it was possible for these things to be true. 

JEWS 

The children of Israel in the past have not been special favorites 
of God or divinely led any more than other nations, for God has no 
favorites. We think their history written by sectarians is unreliable. 
God is the same now as He was millions of years ago, and He is not 
favoring the Jews with His godliness to the detriment of others. There 
is nothing outside of Jewish history to substantiate these claims. 
Among the Jews at one time it was unlawful to mix different seeds in 
sowing, and to weave wool and linen in a piece of the same cloth. 
The touching of sacred objects was an offence punishable by death. 
The Jews are more godly now than they ever were before, but none 
of us would like to be governed by a sectarian society of any nation- 
ality. They were a small nation. Their struggle was one for exis- 
tence. They had a desire for a saviour to care for them in this world. 
They did not trouble themselves much about the next. Within a 
few hundred years there were sixteen men who pretended to be the 
Messiah of the world, but none of them filled the bill. Jesus was 
rejected with the rest as a fraud and imposter. The Jewish history, 
when it refers to the coming Messiah, does not refer to Jesus Christ 
any more than to any of the others. God our Creator is the only 
Saviour we need to give our spirits life and life eternal. 

The Jews are God's ancient people. The most of them are self- 
supporting and law-abiding. They do not pretend to be Christians, 
but godly men; and they believe in God, which is better than to 
believe in man. Their religion comes from Jehovah, the only true 
God, our Creator and Redeemer. Their teachers preach justice, 
righteousness, toleration, love, forgiveness, and all of the attributes 



48 THE BOOK OF TRUTH 

of God, which have been handed down to them by their ancestors. 
They do not believe in the story of Christ's birth, resurrection, and 
ascension; neither did their ancestors who Hved in the days of Christ, 
nor does the writer of this book, for his God is the God of Christ and 
the Jews. Goats are not born of cows, and sheep are not born of 
horses; neither are gods born of women. I cannot be false to my 
convictions. 

The Jews at the present time are more intelligent and wiser than 
they were thousands of years ago and have a better conception of 
God, His attributes and laws of nature. His truth will abide with 
mankind as long as they are willing to receive it, regardless of color 
or nationality, until time shall be no more. If everything in the 
Bible in regard to Christ were true the Jews in his day would have 
been glad to believe in him, as some of us do now. But it was taught 
to them by word of mouth that the claims of his followers were false, 
and they had thousands of living witnesses to prove it. 

THE JEWS AND JESUS 

The Jews who crucified Jesus did not think that he was the Supreme 
Being who created the heavens and the earth and everything created 
by an Infinite Being; who causes the sun to shine and the rain to 
fall alike upon the just and unjust, and provides a bountiful harvest 
to mankind and all His creatures. If we had been there and seen 
Jesus we should doubtless have had the same opinion of him that the 
Jews had; but we would not have crucified him even if that had been 
the penalty for the crime of which he was accused or if he had pro- 
fessed to be all that the Scripture makers claimed for him. We might 
have put him in a lunatic asylum if there were any there, or had ex- 
perts examine him as to his sanity, as we would do now, but there is 
no doubt in our mind that Jesus was perfectly harmless. The teach- 
ings of the New Testament: '^Believe in the Lord Jesus Christ and 
be saved; believe not and be damned,'' was indirectly, as enforced 
by the Roman Catholic Church, the cause of fifty millions of people 
being put to death without just cause; but that is not Christ's fault, 
for he never took the life of any one. He is not to blame for the 
Scripture makers' mistakes or the crimes committed by the Roman 



FUTURE RELIGION OF THE WORLD 49 

Catholic?, or the Turks at the present time, for he is dead and knows 
nothing about them. Nor can he stop it. It is for the world to stop 
such outrages in the name of our Creator and Redeemer. Christ's 
crucifixion put a stop to any more Jews claiming to be the Messiah. 
Undoubtedly there were no more who cared to risk their lives by the 
enforcement of the law; they preferred to be just plain Jews and live 
rather than to claim to be the Messiah and be crucified. 

JOSHUA 

Joshua was a murderer — like Moses, one of the most ungodly men 
of his day. All of his butcheries he claimed were done by the com- 
mand of God. Joshua was the wicked ruler; not God, our Heavenly 
Father. When preachers desert God and defend the character of 
such men as Moses and Joshua it is time for a church cleaning that 
will help the morals of the community in which they live. 

^^And the sun stood still, and the moon stayed, until the people 
had avenged themselves upon their enemies'' (Joshua 10:13). Scien- 
tists tell us that the sun always stands still. What did these writers 
know about the sun over ninety- two million miles away from this 
earth? God knew all about the planets then as He does now, but 
they did not; so the parrots should not scream ^^ Word of God" when 
this Scripture is read. 

^^And I have given you a land for which ye did not labor, and 
cities which ye built not, and ye dwell in them; of the vineyards and 
oliveyards which we planted not do ye eat" (Joshua 24:13). Yes, 
this is true; but how did he get them? By murder and robbery, as 
all wicked men do. This kind of news from the book some call the 
Holy Bible will not make the world better and more godlike, and it 
should be stricken from the Bible so as to make men more righteous. 
In the same chapter, Joshua says: ''But as for me and my house, 
we will serve the Lord." I have heard ministers take for their text 
these words of this old brute and they did not tell their hearers how he 
served the Lord or what an old fraud he w^as. They only closed their 
address by saying go and do likewise. Let your conscience be guided 
by reason rather than by faith and submission to a priest who keeps 
you in fear and ignorance. 



so THE BOOK OF TRUTH 

JONAH 

'^For as Jonah was three days and three nights in the whale's belly, 
so shall the Son of man be three days and three nights in the heart of 
the earth'' (Matthew 12:40). 

The resurrectionists made a mistake. They took Christ out of 
the grave too quickly. They only left him in the tomb one day and 
two nights. They should have waited longer so that the Scriptures 
might have been fulfilled, which was the usual custom. It is the 
same old story — liars and false witnesses will be found out. In this 
case the Roman soldiers were near at hand and Jesus' friends dared 
not wait any longer, for that was their only opportunity. Those 
who swallow this story will believe most anything if it is in the Bible. 
One event is as true as the other, for each depends upon the other. 

There is an old church in Italy which is reported to be over two 
thousand years old. On the front, outside, just above the first story, 
are two figures. One represents Jonah being swallowed by the great 
fish. The other shows how the fish threw him up. It indicates by 
these figures that Jonah turned around in the whale's belly and was 
well cared for in his new home; but he was indigestible, and the 
whale could not stomach him, so he went ashore (as all fish do now- 
adays, of course) and threw him up on dry land. 

It is a wonder to us how the Christians can swallow a story like 
this and keep it down. We can almost imagine that we hear their 
cry: ^^O God! I believe this story. Please take me home to glory." 

Jacob's ladder 

Jacob's ladder reaching up to heaven, with the angels ascending 
and descending, was only seen by Jacob. He would never have 
seen it if he had not closed his eyes and dreamed. Nothing can come 
out of a man but what is in him. God's religion is real and natural. 
Christ's birth, resurrection, ascension, and religion, according to the 
Bible, are unnatural and not real. This is the reason so many of the 
Jews rejected it, and worshipped the God they had not seen in pref- 
erence to the man they had seen. The only church unity which is 
possible is the adoption of the real, natural religion, which is accord- 



FUTURE RELIGION OF THE WORLD 51 

ing to God's laws of nature. This religion comes from God, not from 
man, who is of the dust of the earth. Some of this dust is of very 
poor quality and used to make images for the idol worshippers. 

SOLOMON 

It will not make our sons and daughters any better to teach them 

that Solomon had seven hundred wives and three hundred concubines 

and was the father of Mormonism; that the so-called Word of God 

says that he was superior to all other kings in happiness, riches, and 

wisdom. Such things as this are prone to arouse the animal passions 

in the minds of children and make them bad and immoral. There is 

no doubt that the Bible was the cause of Mormonism in the United 

States, but the swords and votes of men abolished it. The writings 

in the Bible which caused Mormonism should be abolished to make 

the job complete. 

Samson's hair 

The physical strength of all powerful men is in the body and not 
in the hair. Samson was no exception to the rule. It is only re- 
ligious and weak-minded people who have faith enough in the Bible 
to believe that everything in it is true and the Word of God. If 
God numbers the hairs of our head he is more foolish than his chil- 
dren are — which is contrary to reason. The laws of nature are more 
apt to be true than the writings of the Scripture makers. There 
is no doubt that Samson's hair was strong if he never washed it. 
That is as natural as all the laws of nature and the universe. The 
strength of Samson was no different from that of other men. 

RELIGION 

Most of the so-called sacred books in the Bible are the products 
of ignorant, uneducated minds. The doctrine of the Trinity is 
absurd. God was before the Holy Ghost, the Son, or the world. 
The writers of the Bible were nothing but men. The fruit trees 
were all planted before the arrival of Adam and the fruit was ready 
for the harvest. The tree of knowledge is a myth. It is nonsense 
to preach that God promised to such an insignificant tribe as the 
Jews supremacy over all the nations of the world. If He did He 



52 THE BOOK OF TRUTH 

has not kept His promise, so we prefer to believe God rather than 
the Scripture makers. To call Christ our God is flattery, and it is 
going too far to give such a name to any human being. The priests 
have invented many forms and ceremonies and special days to 
worship the man called Christ as a means of domineering over man- 
kind so they can live as refined gentlemen on the fat of the land. 
Evil exists in the world and it always will. If the world is not what 
it should be it is man's fault, not God's, for He has left it to man- 
kind to make it what it should be. The preachers should give their 
time to make men more godly in this world, for they have no au- 
thority to make us anything in the next. If we do our duty here 
we can trust God to do His in eternity. We need no priest to plead 
our case before our Heavenly Father. There is no certainty that 
some of the priests will ever reach heaven. A religion which en- 
slaves the mind should be shunned, for it is not godly, but priestly. 
We should not take dreams of ignorant folk for realities, not even if 
we find them in the Bible. The Christian religion of the slave owners 
or Mormons did not make them godly. It was their Christian re- 
ligion and their selfishness which made them what they were. We 
should be honest in our religious belief. Teach the people the plain 
truth in simple language which all can understand. Dispel error 
and the delusions which burden the minds of the common people. 
Free the minds of God's children from fear, superstition, and igno- 
rance. Expose fraud, pious or secular. Cultivate and hold fast to 
reason. Beware and do not be led astray from the God of Creation. 
Be rational and reasonable in all things. Work for the cause of 
virtue and genuine, godly religion. Remember that Almighty God's 
goodness is manifested in all His creation, and all the other so-called 
gods are only titles. These idols never created anything except 
a false religion to calm the minds of ungodly men and those who 
are led astray by drones and money makers for a selfish purpose. 
If your religion is of the heart it should be like the heart, always 
pulsing with the warmth of life while you are alive. If it is of the 
head it will be intellectual and reasonable if well cultivated. If 
we are wise, we shall open the door of thought and keep it open until 
we are wiser, then we can impart our wisdom to others. It took 



FUTURE RELIGION OF THE WORLD 53 

the Christian people three hundred years before they decided what 
books should belong to the New Testament. During the fourth 
century they dropped the Epistle of Barnaby. We think they 
should have kept up the good work and when they found error or 
writings likely to make the world worse they should have dropped 
them as they would a red-hot iron. We should not worship the 
Bible or Jesus for something they are not; only respect them for 
what they are. An emotional religion which depends upon excite- 
ment is like a mushroom — it comes up quickly, but doesn't last 
long. We have to give an account of ourselves to God. The true 
worshipper will worship a live God and not the spirit of a dead man 
called Jesus. The publican said: ^^God be merciful to me, a sin- 
ner,'' so he must have believed in God. 

In the days of Moses or Christ the people did not know as much 
about God or anything godly as we do now. It does not speak 
well for us to take our religion from ignorant folk such as inhabited 
the earth in those days, or worship a book because it is ancient. If 
we are going backward we should go back to the times when there 
were no books and worship the God who created us and the world 
in which we live. Then we could start at the original landmark 
established by the only true God, in whom we should trust and have 
faith. A religion which will not stand the test of God's love, justice, 
and righteousness, and the science and reason of men is not fit to exist 
in the minds of men. Mental diseases are often caused by bad 
preaching. Religious excitement at revival meetings is more likely 
to land some of its victims in a lunatic asylum than in heaven. Poi- 
sonous draughts for the mind are very easy to make, but should be 
very hard to take. 

Some religions are made by men who have left the real God out 
and have substituted a man to take His place. The spirit of a dead 
man cannot be a god of creation but may answer for a monetary 
business. The world was before man. Man was before the spirit 
of a dead man. The theology which brought the Son and the Holy 
Ghost into this world did not arrive until over a million years after 
all the heavens were created, which is conclusive evidence that the 
claims of its followers are fraudulent. Those who have been con- 



54 THE BOOK OF TRUTH 

verted to a false faith, when death overtakes them, may cry: ^^My 
God, my God! why hast thou forsaken me? Where am I, for 
I know not? I have been led astray like lost sheep and I am 
waiting for the real God, the good Shepherd." It is our hope 
they may find Him before it is too late. We can dispense with 
the supernatural religion when we find the natural, the real 
religion. Then we shall worship the God of nature, our Creator 
and Preserver. 

For our religion we should not go back to the Dark Ages when the 
religious folk used to burn heretics and witches alive in the name 
of Christianity. At no time since the creation of the world has God 
spoken to mankind so plainly as He has in the twentieth century, so 
that His children may know right from wrong, man's duty to man, 
and good from evil. God has exposed the sins of the churches, the 
falsity of the dogmas they preach, and also the ungodly means they 
have taken to raise money for their support by robbing the widows 
and orphans and assuming the functions of God, their Creator, in 
the name of religion. God is the same now as He was before the 
creation of any of the worlds, but never has He before revealed His 
love and righteousness to men through men as He has during the 
few years of this century already passed, and the outlook for the 
future is more promising than ever before. 

OLD RELIGIONS 

It is not age that makes one religion better than another. If 
religion were whiskey, age might improve it. The further we go 
back into the Dark Ages the more ignorance, crime, and ungodliness 
we find. The world is growing wiser all the time. The greatest 
hindrances to the growth of wisdom have been the dogmas of the 
Church and the error of the priests in proclaiming the Bible as the 
Word of God. Believing the product of man to be the word of an 
Infinite Being is certainly a great mistake. 

Justice, mercy, love, gratitude, righteousness, sympathy, and all 
kindred qualities are common to nearly all religions even though 
founded many years before the Christian religion. A good man 
can see some truth in each of them; but good is mixed with evil, 



FUTURE RELIGION OF THE WORLD 55 

and these religions are used to serve selfish and wicked people. You 
may know many religions by their fruits. 

NATURE 

If we expect to enjoy nature we must comply with its laws. If we 
eat or drink too much or partake of the things we should not, nature 
informs us that it is our fault and not God's. When men shave, if 
we cut the skin nature informs us and gives us warning. If she did 
not we might cut our throats and not know it until it was too late. 
The only way to raise good grain, fruit, vegetables, or have good 
health is to comply with the law of nature. If we do our part, God 
will do His. God left it to men to free the slaves, feed the hungry, 
clothe the naked, and protect the weak against the strong. Man 
sows the seed and God makes it grow. He never does for us what 
we can do for ourselves. He gives us sunshine, moonlight, rain, 
the seasons, and many things which we cannot provide for ourselves; 
and we do not have to ask Him for them, because He knows our 
needs and is our Heavenly Father. 

There is more reason and truth in nature than there is in the 
Bible, for nature represents God, while the Bible represents only 
those who wrote it, and also those who use it for all kinds of material 
gain and ungodliness, such as enslaving men by Mormonism, robbery, 
sectarianism, murder, and deception. 

The laws of nature in the minds of men will make the world better 
and more godlike. The best way to test the writings of the Scrip- 
tures is to compare them with the laws of nature, the sciences, and 
history, using reason and the facts which are in our possession. If 
we are after the truth for a righteous purpose we shall be able to find 
it to the satisfaction of ourselves and others who have been rightly 
educated and do their own thinking. 

ORIGINAL SIN 

The doctrine of original sin is an insult to God and the reason of 
man. Sin cannot be imparted to infants before they are born. 
Infants are without sin until they actually commit it, and old enough 
to know right from wrong. Godly men never punish innocent 



56 THE BOOK OF TRUTH 

children for the sins of others. The devil would be ashamed to do 
so; and God will not, for He is just. We should not be troubled 
because of ungodly Christian teaching or on account of ignorant men 
who have no conception of righteousness. 

OBSCENE 

Our sense of decency prevents us from calling our readers' atten- 
tion to many particular passages in the Bible which are vile and unfit 
to be read aloud in an assembly of ladies and gentlemen. These 
passages are well known by all Scripture readers. 

OMNIPOTENT BEING 

We know there are laws of the universe and that they do not come 
from the lower animals or man, but from some higher being; that when 
we obey them goodness and happiness come to us with better health 
and joy and love for our Creator; that when we disobey them suf- 
fering comes upon us and that the prayers of a priest will not make us 
better. In many cases the skilled physician can remove the dif- 
ficulty, not by prayer, but by the scientific knowledge and skill he 
has gained by study and experience. Whenever there is an effect 
there must be a cause, which is a vindication of God's laws. The 
wise, scientific man knows that this is an infinite universe; that 
it never would have been created if there were no Infinite Creator 
or an Omnipotent Being whom we call God. We should not make 
the fatal mistake so many have made, which may be to us eternal 
death, of taking a dead man about five feet and four inches tall and 
of about one hundred and forty-seven pounds weight for God our 
Creator. 

RACES 

It is a mistake to think that the black, brown, and yellow races 
exist only for the benefit of the white people. We are all of the one 
blood and belong to the same species. God's holy laws of nature 
are the same to all and there is no favoritism shown to any nation- 
ality. This is just and righteous. It is ungodly for the rich to make 
slaves of the poor. The poor man is worthy of his hire and entitled 
to his freedom. 



FUTURE RELIGION OF THE WORLD 57 

SCIENCE AND NATURE 

God made the laws of science and nature which govern the world 
and all the planets. Man discovered them by hard study and ex- 
perience. Moses and his people made their laws of butchery and 
executed them whenever they were able to do so. The old fraud 
and murderer, Moses, claimed that his laws were made by God. 
This is a libel against our Heavenly Father. 

LAND 

Over three fourths of the surface of our globe is covered with water. 
We have enough land left to supply all our wants. We cannot get 
more land by prayer, but we can get more by filling in and drainage, 
which is one of the provisions our Maker has made for us. 

If we want more land, God's way is that we must work for it, 
and the quicker we find it out the better it will be for us and pos- 
terity. 

THE BIBLE 

God wrote the Bible no more than He did the family record in 
the Bible. They were both written by man, and the latter is more 
apt to be true than the former, because it is a matter of record, and 
a court of justice would admit it as evidence. All God made of the 
Bible is the raw material, and man made the rest. W^hen we want to 
know the truth about any of the sciences we do not look in the Bible 
for it. If the historical part of the Bible is true it needs no inspira- 
tion; if it is not true, to call it inspired will not change it from what 
it is. Christ and his apostles never believed or preached that every- 
thing in the Old Testament was the Word of God; and the godly 
Jews, outside of the few who were followers of Christ, never believed 
that many things in the New Testament were the Word of God, 
unless they were taken from the Old Testament. Even then they 
had their doubts about it. Christ preached that many things in 
the Old Testament were not true — that God was not a murderer, 
a robber, or a confiscator of other's property; that Moses could not 
blame God for his sins and ungodliness, for God was a God of love, 
forgiveness, and righteousness; that the Sabbath was made for men 



58 THE BOOK OF TRUTH 

to go out in the forest, take his children along, have a good time, and 
do that, whether it were rest or exercise, which would give strength, 
vigor, and vitality to the body. The apostles did not believe in the 
teachings of the Old Testament in regard to cutting and slashing 
the body to save the soul, or that slavery and Mormonism were 
divine institutions, but they believed that God permitted these 
things, relying on mankind to abolish them, as He still does. When 
we worship the Bible we worship an idol. Why not take the Bible 
for what it is worth and worship God? You will get along much 
better then, even if you cannot read. 

The Bible consists of many books, which are all in one. Some 
of the writers are unknown. God is not partial. Who would have 
the presumption to accuse Him of writing these books and no others? 
If God is a spirit He has no hands, therefore He could not write 
books. There is no doubt that this Bible was written by interested 
parties, and some of them had an axe or sword to grind, the latter 
being very frequently used. God sometimes speaks to men by 
men who are not versed in the different languages or who are not 
able to convey His message to others in grammatical form, yet it 
is God's message; but when He speaks to us through nature He 
does not need to have any hands or know any language. We can- 
not say of Him what is said of Christ — that He is unlettered. God 
is all power, love, and intelligence. If the Bible is the only Word 
of God, where has He kept Himself for the last two thousand years? 
Is He now deaf and dumb? We think not, but He has only shut 
off intercourse with ungodly preachers. It is a great mistake to 
think that the Bible is any more than some other books or that 
everything in it is the Word of God. Many have been murdered 
or robbed by those who have taken the Bible for what it is not, and 
the priests and teachers have been blamable for most of these crimes. 
The Bible was written by scores of different writers, in the Dark Ages. 
It is a book of the history of a very small kingdom, and there is 
nothing in it which indicates that God vouched for the truth of it 
or is responsible for what it contains. The Bible says that the 
hairs of our head are numbered. That is nonsense or figurative 
language. The man who wrote it is not so big a fool as those who 



FUTURE RELIGION OF THE WORLD 59 

believe it. We call the book the ^^Holy Bible" because that is 
its name, but there are many things in it which are not true. It 
misrepresents God, and many things in it are obscene and unfit for 
young people to read. The Bible has also caused the deaths of 
billions of people in the name of religion, Christianity, and godliness. 

God did not give us the Bible any more than He has thousands 
of other books. If it was God's book it would not misrepresent 
His attributes or accuse Him of the crimes of Moses and the Roman 
Catholic Church, and it would tell the truth about astronomy, 
geology, Jesus Christ, and the history of the past. The statements 
in the Bible should be looked upon as allegorical, for they are nothing 
else but legends that are absurd. We never can learn much about 
astronomy by reading the Bible or about any of the sciences by 
reading religious books written by Christians unless they are scien- 
tists. There are telescopes which bring the moon within one hun- 
dred and twenty miles of us and we expect the time will come when 
it will be in sight of us so we can see villages, cities, and inhabitants, 
if there are any there; but this will not be brought about by read- 
ing the Bible. ^^Holy Bible" is a good name, but misleading for a 
book of this kind. The Word of God sounds well to call that which 
is not true so our friends will believe it. 

When we use to the best of our ability the reason God has given 
us and, reading the sciences as recorded by our ablest men, search 
history for the truth, we find that the Bible is false in its history 
of creation. It is not true that we are born wicked or suffer for the 
sins of Adam. The Bible is false in regard to the birth of Christ, 
his resurrection and ascension; false in giving us the real character 
of God, and many other things in relation to humanity and our 
destiny. We cannot help asking ourselves wherein is it any better 
than many other books. It is certainly a poor guide to direct us 
to our Heavenly Father's home in the great eternal city. It is the 
duty of our ministers to defend God from all accusations of ungod- 
liness, whether they find them printed in the Bible or newspapers. 
There are many foolish things in the Bible, and an honest priest will 
admit it unless he is afraid that if he does he will be disciplined by 
the authorities of the Church and that he may suffer for the truth. 



6o THE BOOK OF TRUTH 

There is inspiration in other books besides the Bible. There are 
many things in the Bible that are not inspired. There is much chaff 
in the wheat. It should be sifted out by a gentle breeze of godliness 
from the sun. Myths, fables, and falsehoods are not changed by 
printing them in any book. Professors in colleges and universities 
estimate that there are ninety thousand errors in the text of the Bible, 
but it does not seem to be possible. If God has made as many errors 
as that in one book He should not be very hard on us for our mis- 
takes and should forgive us without the asking; but I believe that 
He would deny that He ever had anything to do with such a book. 
The Bible contains many different books. Their connection is made 
by the Scripture makers and by the binders in stitching the leaves 
together; those which the stitches caught are called by some the Word 
of God, all the rest rubbish. 

For fifteen hundred years after the death of Jesus the Roman 
Catholic Church was the sole depository of the New Testament, and 
if it is not what they want it to be now it is the fault of their ancient 
Church. They were very careful for years to keep it out of the hands 
of the Jews, who did not believe in Jesus, so that they could not deny 
the reported cures and miracles which were claimed by his followers 
and recorded in the New Testament. The Bible is poor food for 
the men of astronomy, geology, surgery, medicine, or any of the other 
sciences, for it takes them back to the days of ignorance instead 
of forward to wisdom, intelligence, and the advancement of knowl- 
edge. If we refresh our memory we may remember that there are 
some things in the Bible that are reported to have been said by the 
devil, so we should be careful what we call the Word of God, for 
He may hold us accountable for it. The Bible does not contain all 
the revelations of God, who is still alive and has not been deaf and 
dumb for the last nineteen hundred years. 

The days are past when men of brains and intelligence will accept 
the teachings of the Scriptures as authority in astronomy, botany, 
zoology, geology, or any of the sciences. The teachings are too foolish 
and too ridiculous to be accepted by scientific scholars. Falsehood 
and ignorance must be abolished wherever we find them so that truth 
and reason can take their place. The Bible is like a newspaper 



FUTURE RELIGION OF THE WORLD 6i 

whose publisher gets part of his news from dreamers who have visions 
when they are asleep; from ignorant, superstitious people, and from 
others who are not reliable, so we should take it for what it is worth 
and no more. It w^as written by the hands of men, not by God, who 
is a spirit and has no hands and fingers. It is no more the Word 
of God than some other books written in our generation. 

The Holy Bible is like the Holy Land — there is nothing holy 
about it except the name. If you visit the Holy Land you will have 
to be careful where you go or you will be robbed or murdered, for it 
is one of the most ungodly places on the face of the earth. The land 
may be holy, but the people who occupy it oftentimes are not. 
Many things in the Bible should be eliminated and not given to 
children to read or the name should be changed so they will not be 
led astray and take everything in it for virtue, justice, and godliness. 
Many children are getting wise since they have seen bulls, cows, 
elephants, and animals that are called sacred, though very vicious; 
hence they know that the word sacred in some cases is misleading, 
especially when applied to obscene and vulgar reading. 

The priests and teachers have been giving their people for many 
years the chaff and wheat together. The time will come when they 
will have to submit the Bible to the common-sense judgment of men 
— the fanning mill — so that the wheat may be separated from the 
chaff; otherwise the chaff will destroy the wheat, if it has not already 
done so. The most ignorant men have sense enough to separate the 
rotten potatoes and apples from those that are sound, and to serve 
their guests with food that is wholesome. If our just judges should 
apply the rule of evidence to the Bible, ^^ False in one thing, false in 
all,'' they would have to exclude the Bible as unworthy of belief. 
This book was written by different writers — some of whom were 
godly, others Christians, while many were robbers, murderers, con- 
fiscators, slave owners, ignorant and ungodly men, as well as the 
most obscene writers in any civilized community. We should not 
insult our Creator by calling it the ^^ Word of God. " 

Part of the book of Genesis and many other books in the Old 
Testament are unfit for a respectable family where there are young 
daughters. "Holy Bible" and the '^Word of God" are fraudulent 



62 THE BOOK OF TRUTH 

lables for these obscene writings. It would not be safe for any one to 
compile the filthy and obscene writings in the Bible and send them 
through the United States mails. If a person should do this he would 
find himself in the penitentiary where he belongs. Why do the gov- 
ernment officers who enforce the law make any distinction whether 
these writings are in the Bible or some other book? Is it because 
they want the votes of the churches for their re-election so as to make 
their places secure? It is more important that food for the mind 
should be pure than that pure food be given to the body. What is 
filthy in the Bible would be the same in any other book, and preaching 
or praying in the churches will not purify it. 

PRAYER 

Praying for the dead is about as old as the hills. The priests used 
to pray for the body thousands of years ago, and there was money 
in doing so until the people by experience found that prayer was not a 
cure at all and had no effect upon persons who were afflicted with dan- 
gerous diseases. The doctors and surgeons were having much better 
success than the priests and were getting most all the business. Then 
the priests played another card, and prayed for the soul, the immortal 
part of man. There is where the priests got the better of the people, 
for they were ignorant and had to die to find out whether they were 
getting what they paid for, and if they were not there was no coming 
back to this world to expose the business, so the priests have had a 
soft job, until Mother Eddy and her followers cut the price down to 
one dollar a visit to pray for the body and no extra charge to pray for 
the soul. The best feature about this is that there is no monopoly or 
combine as there is with the trust monopolies in the United States. I 
am informed that the priests and ministers are now praying for the body 
without price and are preaching Christ's words: ^'They that are sick 
need a physician.'' As long as they do this may God bless them. 
We should remember that the priests in our day are not responsible 
for the sins of the priests thousands of years ago, and are not account- 
able for the sins of Adam or any of the people who died before they were 
born; but they are accountable to God for robbing poor widows by pre- 
tending to pray to get the spirits of their dear ones out of purgatory. 



FUTURE RELIGION OF THE WORLD 63 

When a man dies God never keeps his spirit in a wooden box until 
the church gets a rake-off from his estate. The priests do not know 
that God ever did; they are only sure that they can make the de- 
ceased's friends beheve so, and they get the cash for their prayers and 
the mourners are satisfied. 

God gives us the privilege of doing our own praying, and the result 
will be the same as it would be if we hired it done. You will find it 
much easier to let the priest saw the wood and shovel the coal while 
you do your own prating, after you get used to it, though you may 
find it a little hard at first. Cleanliness is next to godliness, so do not 
forget to bathe frequently, especially before going to church. Do not 
rely on the priest to make your body clean. The priests have been 
keeping their subjects waiting for the resurrection of the body and 
the day of judgment for thousands of years, which has made the 
business of praying for the dead very good with them. When the 
people stop paying, the priest will stop praying. When we are 
afflicted with illness we shall get relief much quicker if we have faith in 
God and our doctor than if we trust any one else. It is far more 
reasonable to pray to our dead father, mother, or dear friends who 
loved and cared for us while on earth than to pray to a dead Messiah 
whom you never knew and who was nothing but a man. Never 
trade a God whom you have never seen for a man whom some one 
saw about two thousand years ago. We know what a man is and 
should know what God is and what He will be to us in eternity. 

Prayer will not take the place of fertilizer to make your corn, wheat, 
and vegetables grow and give you a bountiful han^xst. When you 
give your money to pray for such a selfish purpose you are fertilizing 
the pockets of the priest instead of the soil which God intended you 
should. Your neighbors will have better crops ^dthout prayer than 
you do with prayer if they use good fertilizer. 

W' e know that prayer will not take the place of food, water, or cloth- 
ing. It is good exercise for the lungs and perfectly harmless. It is 
not our object to make you feel sad, but to make you wise so that you 
^^ill open your eyes and through faith and love see your dear ones, 
and that with or without prayer you may meet them there. It is 
time enough to pay the priest for his prayers when you get to heaven 



64 THE BOOK OF TRUTH 

and find that his supplications have done the business. Those who 
pay money to preachers to pray for their dead are foolish, and those 
who take it, we think, are sinners and are getting something for 
nothing. Why should the nation allow priests and Christian Scien- 
tists to use the mails for a prayer-swindHng business? Is it be- 
cause they want the votes of the churches on election day? It is 
only a question of time when public schools and free libraries will 
change these things for future generations, and the blue laws of the 
present will be no more. Then the world will be what God intended 
it should be for His children. 

Preaching and prayer are like medicine — they only affect those 
who swallow them. We never heard of a case where prayer abol- 
ished death. Prayer may have an effect with a devil, for he is partial 
and will do almost anything to get a follower; but God is just and 
impartial — if He were not, He would not be God. It is not one of 
the attributes of God to perform miracles and tricks so that His 
people will believe in Him, nor to curse those who do not believe. 
He sends the rain and sunshine alike upon the just and unjust. We 
know many cases where poor men and women have been relieved 
of some of their money by prayer, and of some who have been relieved 
of all their money by thieves without prayer, which caused suffer- 
ing in either case. 

We should be honest when we pray or talk to God and not ask 
blessings from Him for Christ's sake when they are for our own 
sake. It is worse to pray for the soul for money than it is to pray 
for the body for revenue. God will save a good soul without prayer 
just as surely as we will save a good peach, plum, or pear we want 
for our own use; but it is too late to save fruit after it is rotten. Prayer 
for the body has a good effect upon sick, weak-minded folk, or those 
who have a diseased mind. When we cut our feet or hands or have 
a diseased spot in the body the mind sometimes is concentrated 
on it, the blood rushes to the head so the patient has fear, and the 
doctor's medicine will not have the desired effect until this fear is 
removed. But prayer or faith in the doctor will generally remove it. 
I have known of some cases where hot air from a minister has had the 
desired effect. Paying the priest every month or two to pray for 



FUTURE RELIGION OF THE WORLD 65 

your dead father is no more reasonable than it would be to pay the 
barber for a hair cut and a close shave for him. It is a shave and a 
fraud in either case. I would let him pay his own bills for all such 
services after he is dead. In many cases it would be far better if 
we had less prayer and more work. Sweet cider has to work to 
become strong, so do men; if they do not they will be like yeast 
that will not work, being worthless. God never leads us into tempta- 
tion. He knows what we are, and does not have to test us. 

Christ did not say to pray to him, but to our Heavenly Father 
who is in Heaven. When you pray, stand up like a man and do not 
be ashamed of yourself. Talk to your Heavenly Father as you 
would to your earthly father. Thank Him for the many bless- 
ings you have received without asking. He does not expect you to 
pray to Him when you have nothing to say. Do not spend most of 
your time praying, but be at work earning an honest living. You 
do not have to be inside of a meeting-house to talk to God. If you 
are too ill to pray be sure to select some one who has communion 
with God; but remember that God is like a good, earthly father, and 
looks after His children even if they do not pray. It will do no 
harm, if it makes us feel better and enables us to bear our burdens 
more cheerfully, to beseech God to continue His loving kindness 
unto us in the future as He has in the past because we are His chil- 
dren and He is our Father. 

God is the same to all mankind in this world, whether men do or 
do not pray. His blessings are showered alike upon the just and 
the unjust. Nature is impartial because God is God. It is men 
who punish the body for the crimes and sins of the body, not God. 
But they cannot punish a man after he is dead any more than they 
can a stone. The dead need no medicine or prayers; it is too late 
for either. Priests should keep their hot air and quack medicines 
for the living if there is any virtue in them. A good father will 
care for his children without prayer. Teaching has the same effect 
on the mind as prayer, but neither will cure fatal disease. All medi- 
cine can do is to assist nature. Doctors of experience can diagnose 
the disease and determine what remedy is a specific for it. The 
doctor has many remedies to select from, but the Christian Science 



66 THE BOOK OF TRUTH 

practitioner has only one remedy for all ills, that is prayer (hot air), 
and nature will cure just as readily without the prayer, which is of 
no assistance. 

It is just as reasonable to ask God to bestow a blessing through 
the merits of your mother as it is through the merits of Jesus Christ. 
If Christ, Buddha, or any one else is your God you are ignoring 
your Creator. God's way of keeping life in the bodies of His children 
in this world is by food, drink, sleep, and proper care of the body, 
not by prayer, which is no substitute for these things. 

Praying in some cases is a habit, and may be, like the braying of 
an ass, good exercise for the lungs. The diseases of mankind are 
generally cured by medicine, diet, and obeying the laws of nature. 
Prayer has an effect upon the mind only, but not enough to make 
an insane man sane or to cure a fatal disease. Sick men have prayed 
to the sun, the golden calf, idols of wood, stone, and other images, 
and been cured of their ills, but that does not prove that the prayer 
had anything to do with it. It was nature which caused the cure. 

It is natural to have tender feelings toward the dead and be sub- 
ject to the wishes of the deceased. As a matter of business the 
priest strikes while the iron is hot, but he should stop when the iron 
is cold. When he wants money for praying for the dead every few 
months for several years it is overdoing the business. He is like 
the farmer who will take milk as long as the cows will give it. Jesus 
never asked his followers to pray to him, but to God, saying: "For- 
give us our trespasses"; "Forgive them, for they know not what 
they do." A good spanking is more apt to make bad children good 
than prayer and tears. "All things, whatsoever ye shall ask in 
prayer, believing, ye shall receive" (Matthew 21:22). This is not 
true. Jugglers have tried to make it so, because it is in the Bible. 
It is foolish to ask God to violate His laws of nature to please us. 
He will never make special laws for praying people; if He did He 
would be partial and not righteous. The prayers of all the priests 
in heaven, hell, or this world cannot make God partial or unjust. 
Praying indicates goodness. A just God will never grant us favors 
on account of prayer that He does not grant to others. It is reason- 
able to thank God for His loving kindness. The nation appoints a 



FUTURE RELIGION OF THE WORLD 67 

day once a year to thank God for past favors and that is as often 
as God or our rulers require it. If we want our prayers granted we 
must comply with God's laws of nature and not take His time when 
He has other business. 

The Indians pray to the spirits of the dead, but not when they 
have been dead eighteen hundred years. Prayer is a consolation 
to them. Even if it is to a god made of wood it has the same effect 
as that of a Christian. God is always ready to do His part when- 
ever we do ours. We must plant and sow if we expect to reap the 
harvest, which does not come by prayer, but by work. The ef- 
ficiency of prayer is not great enough to make God violate His laws 
of nature because some old, selfish woman w^ants Him to do so just 
to please her or so that some prayer peddler can make a few dollars. 
We know that some ministers can draw the dollars out of other men's 
pockets into theirs by prayer, and thieves can rob others without 
prayer. But it is not God's fault; it is our business to look out for 
ourselves. The prayers that are most acceptable to God are in 
living a righteous life and obeying the dictates of conscience. What 
some call nature, which is a creative power, others call God. With 
this conception of God, prayer is answered by complying with na- 
ture's laws. We should know that when we pray for water in the 
form of rain that if we prayed for beer we would get it just as readily. 
The rain falls according to God's laws of nature and not by the 
will of those who pray. 

We know that we can get more milk from a cow by giving her good 
pasturage and cornmeal than we can by providing poor pasturage 
and prayer. We must have good food, water, sleep, and pure air to 
live, but those who do not pray live just as long as those who do, if 
they take proper care of the body. Prayer will not keep eggs or fish 
from spoiling or take the place of medicine in curing the ills of the body. 
God has not made prayer one of the conditions of a long life in this 
world, because He is just and impartial. 

Whether the minister prays for you or not makes no difference with 
God. His prayers will not change the laws of nature. It makes 
some people feel better to pray to a dead Messiah, father, or mother; 
but it is far better to pray to a live God, your Heavenly Father. The 



68 THE BOOK OF TRUTH 

priest often exchanges prayers for money and gets something for 
nothing and the victim goes away happy. 

WORD OF GOD 

Legends, poems, myths, dreams, fish stories, lies, history, or any- 
thing else which is not true cannot be the Word of God. It is more 
apt to be the word of the devil to fool some one. The Bible is composed 
of many books all in one, and is like a barrel of apples that contains 
ninety-nine different varieties, of which some are good and some are 
bad. That which is good and true needs no inspiration, and that 
which is false cannot be made better by prayer. The world would be 
better if the false were cast into the fire and were reduced to ashes so 
it could not be used to make men more foolish than they are. 

I ask not that my will be done, but Thy will, which is for the good 
of Thy children. 

Herod was exceedingly wroth and sent forth and slew all the 
children that were in Bethlehem and in all the coast thereof from two 
years old and under. This may be history, but it is doubtful if he 
would have murdered the female children, who could not have be- 
come rulers. 

'^For what doth it profit a man to gain the whole world and forfeit 
his life" (St. Mark 8:36). The old version is translated "soul" and 
was preached with great eloquence as the Word of God. Yet the 
country evangelists tell us they prefer the old version of ignorance 
because they can use it to better advantage. 

The place to find God 's wisdom and divine word is in God and His 
laws of nature which are revealed to men. In the dogmas of a society 
you will only find what people can make use of to their advantage. 

PLEASURE IS GODLY 

If it were not for the pleasure and recreation we would soon be- 
come tired of this world. Pleasure with the godly man is godly, but 
with the wicked, corrupt man very often is wicked and ungodly. 
Pleasure is a gift of God. Why should we not accept it, with thanks 
to God, in a godly way? Making one's self and every one else miserable 
because the priest tells us it is Christianity is ungodly. Never accept 



FUTURE RELIGION OF THE WORLD 69 

a poor quality of Christianity in place of godliness. The best quality 
of the former is poor enough. If you cannot get godliness in one 
church try some other. Any religion which is not righteous is godless 
and devilish. The pleasure of having children of our own blood 
to look after us in our old age, when they love us and we love them, is 
one of the greatest joys on earth. There may be pleasure in drunk- 
enness and ungodliness, but finally such pleasure will wreck body and 
soul. When matter is sick so is the mind. 

This fact proves beyond doubt that in sickness the mind should be 
looked after and made cheerful, and that the patient should have 
confidence in the means used to cure. Ministers cannot take the 
place of the surgeon or physician. There is a science of medicine, but 
none of Christianity except right living and obeying the laws of nature, 
which should be called godliness, for it comes from God. 

BUDDHA 

Buddha means enlightened, and is the name of an ojffice, or, as 
some call it, a religion — Buddhism. His teachings are just, pure, 
and righteous. He makes no discrimination between rich and poor, 
the just and the unjust. In this respect he is like God 's laws of nature. 

Buddha, the God and Saviour of the world, was according to Bud- 
dhistic records, incarnate by the Holy Ghost of the Virgin Maya and he 
was born on Christmas Day several hundred years before Christ. His 
body was cremated. He taught that they must be blamed who are 
the cause of war and not they who go to war in a righteous cause after 
having exhausted all means to preserve the peace. A murderer 
being put to death should consider that this is the fruit of his own acts. 
He who has conquered self is more fit to live and to gain victories 
than he who is the slave of self. Buddha also taught that our en- 
deavors should be for righteousness, justice, and truth. Buddha calls 
the spirit the soul. In fact, he means the immortal part of man, just 
as we do. In the writings of Buddhism they speak of Buddha as 
the Lord in the same way that Christ is spoken of in the Bible. One 
is as much God as the other. They were both merely moral teachers. 
When Buddha was born the blind received their sight by longing to 
see the coming glory of the Lord; the deaf and dumb spake one with 



70 THE BOOK OF TRUTH 

the other; the crooked became straight; the lame walked, and the fires 
on all the hills were extinguished. According to the Buddhist Scrip- 
tures the child now born would bring deliverance to the whole world; 
the king had come forth to rescue from bondage all the poor, the 
miserable, and the helpless. He chose himself a wife, so he was not 
like Christ — he practised what he preached. The people said un- 
to Buddha with a loud voice, ^^Thou shalt be the ^Buddha, ' our Lord 
and master." He believed in salvation that will not perish, but 
will abide forever. He was a teacher of immortality and righteous- 
ness. According to Buddha truth is eternal, self is the beginning of 
all hatred, and the essence of soul is immortality. 

The glad tidings of Buddha were not only heard by men of all 
nations but by gods, animals, birds, and fish, each hearing the message 
of deliverance in their own way and understanding it, according to 
Buddhism. His followers called him the glorious Lord and Saviour 
who reveals what had been hidden. They worshipped him as the 
Lord of justice, righteousness, love, and salvation. Buddha taught 
that he who does not cleave to wealth, but, possessing riches, uses 
them rightly, will be a blessing unto his fellow-beings. It is not life, 
wealth, and power that enslave men, but the cleaving to these things. 
Buddha's teaching is more sensible, just, and godly than the teaching 
of Jesus, which is, sell all you have and give to the poor (so they can 
spend it in idleness and drunkenness, as many of them do) and make 
yourself destitute, not looking ahead and providing for old age and 
sickness. Such teaching is a curse to the nation and God 's children, 
for it is going beyond reason. 

These are some of the habits of life prescribed by Buddha: Ab- 
stinence from destroying life; from stealing, impurity, and lying; from 
the use of broad beds — ^Hwo is company, three is a crowd." He 
had his ten commandments just as did Moses. He made them and 
did not pretend that God did. There were three sins of the body 
— Murder, theft, and adultery. Buddha taught that everybody 
should be master of the fruits of his labor. This is righteousness 
even if laborers have to form a union to procure their just rights. 
It should be expected of godly churches that they assist labor in all 
just causes. Buddha had his faults. He used to wear filthy clothes, 



FUTURE RELIGION OF THE WORLD 71 

and said that he went to heaven aHve. He, however, was fooHsh 
enough not to stay there, but came back to earth and preached his 
gospel. There is no record that he ever got back to his heavenly 
home. His resurrection of the body was the same as that of Jesus 
and all others who have died — a fake. 

Buddha ordained his ministers. They preached the law of im- 
mortality to all the world that yearned for deliverance. Buddha 
was one of God's preachers of truth who believed in culture of the 
mind, in reason, and in intelligence. Homes for orphans were erected 
by Buddha five hundred years before Jesus was born. The custom 
of burning incense in the churches was borrowed from Buddhism. 
History says that Buddha, the Blessed One, ascended to heaven, 
and, having concluded his pious mission, he returned to the earth 
and went about converting those who listened to his teaching. Jesus 
forgot to come back, and the fools have been looking for him ever 
since, which is absurd and an indication of brain trouble. Buddha 
commanded his followers to make confession so as to receive abso- 
lution, but not for revenue. This custom the Catholics got from 
him so long ago they now think that they got it from God. Con- 
fession is a very lucrative business for the priest. 

''I, myself,'' says Buddha, ^^have attained salvation and am a 
Saviour of others. I was born into the world as the king of truth for 
the salvation of the world." This is just as true about Buddha as 
it is about Christ and you or me. Buddha's dying faith was in God and 
immortality. It is to his credit that he never pretended to be God. 
To belong to the order of Samgha, the congregation of the Buddhist 
community, these are some of the vows that had to be taken: Not 
to kill, not to steal, not to lie. There is nothing about these vows 
which is bad, and they existed before the days of Christ. The Samghas 
also took a vow not to marry. In this respect they were as bad as are 
the priests. They also vowed to refrain from possessing cattle, gold 
and silver, or precious stones. It is no sin to possess wealth or other 
things if they are used for a good purpose. The devils and ungodly 
men should not have all the abundance o f this world. They have 
too much already, and often gained in an ungodly way. 

Prayers to Buddha to cure the sick, when heard by the sick person, 



72 THE BOOK OF TRUTH 

have the same effect upon the minds of those who are his followers 
as a prayer unto Jesus or God has upon Christians who are ill; but 
it is nature which cures and not prayer. Buddha is impartial, which 
is godliness. Jesus was partial and had his favorites, which is un- 
godly and mortal, and is different from God's laws of nature. 

BUDDHA AND CHRIST 

Most of the writings in regard to justice, righteousness, mercy, 
and the miracles of Christ recorded in the New Testament were 
taken from Buddhism and other religious works more ancient than 
Christianity. Buddha did all the different kind of miracles that 
Christ did, and others besides, according to history. The claims of 
Buddha are just as valid as are the claims of Christ. We take no 
stock in many of them, for God then was the same as He is now. 
Old Mother Eddy's followers are claiming the same power to heal 
the sick as the disciples of Christ are said to have possessed. If 
they could get their subjects to believe in the devil the effect upon 
the mind and the results with their patients would be the same. 
Mind has an effect over matter in some cases, but not in fatal ones. 
It is nature which throws off disease and makes the cure. Pray- 
ing for the sick and keeping a physician away from them for the 
mighty dollar is a swindle, and should be made a crime by the laws 
of the states. 

HOSPITALS 

Through the influence of Buddhism, long before the days of Jesus, 
hospitals were built for the poor and needy, and the sick were cared 
for in many parts of the world two thousand years before the birth 
of Jesus. 

Mohammedanism was the outcome of the lunatic asylums long 
before the birth of Jesus, and many institutions of charity were estab- 
lished by the Moslems. 

MOHAMMED 

Mohammed advocated slavery and polygamy, but limited the 
number of wives a man could have to four. No one should take 
him or any of the religious teachers to be anything but men among 
men. They are all human and not supernatural. Mohammed 



FUTURE RELIGION OF THE WORLD 73 

claimed to be only a prophet of God. Jesus' followers should never 
have claimed that he was anything but a religious teacher of righteous- 
ness. It matters not what people claim; it does not change the facts. 
Truth is truth, and will ever remain the same. The claims of Jesus 
and his teachings have been the cause of the murders of millions of 
people. While some of his teachings are good, others are bad. He 
was like other men; he had his faults. Mohammed believed in the 
resurrection of the body and predestination, which indicates where 
some of the Christians got those false doctrines. 

CONFUCIUS 

It is claimed by Confucius' disciples that the education of the 
child commences before its birth. The child may have learned how 
to kick and make it very disagreeable for its mother, but we can- 
not call this education. We know a child cannot learn to read, 
write, and pray before it is born. Yet it may be able to hear some 
swearing and not understand it. This question should not trouble 
us in this world, for most of the trouble comes after the child is 
born. If we keep them as good after they are born as they were 
before they entered this world, we can trust God, without the min- 
ister's aid, to provide for them in eternity. 

Confucius in early life was poor. He was compelled to hunt and 
fish in order that he might support his mother. He allowed her 
to choose his wife and was just as much one of the Trinity as Christ, 
or that old spook, the spirit of a dead man. He did not worship 
himself, but God who is our Creator. 

Over nine hundred years before Christ, Confucius showed his 
righteousness as a great religious teacher by approving of the law 
allowing the punishment of minor offences to be commuted by the 
payment of a fine, which was extended to crimes punishable by death. 

SWEDENBORG 

Swedenborg says: "I have seen some spirits shortly after their 
arrival from the world and knew them by their faces." When he 
wrote this he must have had delirium tremens and thought he was 
in heaven. He informs us that he has talked with the dead, but we 



74 THE BOOK OF TRUTH 

think he is like an old shoe cobbler who said that he had talked with 
God, Jesus, and his dead father, mother, and wife. But his neigh- 
bors said that he was a good old man, but a little ^^ofi," although 
perfectly harmless. 

Swedenborg says that he has spoken with some who were in the 
ancient church after the flood. We think it was a long while after. 
He says that it has been granted him to speak with many of the 
learned after their departure from the world. When he did this he 
must have been in dreamland or suffering from illusions or he would 
have found out all about heaven and eternity. 

SUBSTITUTES 

The religion of Semitic Communities was blood, revenge, and 
atonement. The murder of one of a clan could be expiated only by 
the murder of a member of the murderer's clan. Even a substitute 
would fill the bill. This dogma has been adopted by the Christians 
— that Christ died for us — but it is not righteousness. It may 
be accepted by wicked men, but never by a just God. The death 
of one good man will never make billions of bad men good. No 
just judge will accept and punish a good man for the sins of wicked 
men. 

CHINA 

History tells us that of all the ancient governments China is the 
only one which has not been subjected to the priesthood. This is 
one of the reasons China's sons and daughters have not been sacri- 
ficed upon the altar at the command of the priests as human victims 
in the name and at the alleged demand of God, something which 
has disgraced many parts of the world. 

Among the ancient empires which were peaceable were the Chinese, 
who were good and righteous. They are friends of the poor and 
needy and are known by their good works, which will go as far with 
a just God as a belief that a child born of woman is a Saviour. Right- 
eousness is far better than unrighteousness and dogmatic belief. 
The Chinese teach their people to rely on reason, and in many re- 
spects are the most moral people in the world; but their dealings 
with foreigners have not improved their morals. 



FUTURE RELIGION OF THE WORLD 75 

ARABIA 

In Arabia during the third century heretics taught that the soul 
died with the body to resume a new life at the resurrection of the 
body. It was the Roman Church which rejected this doctrine, 
which was the curse of the ages. The Roman Church taught a 
doctrine of eternal life which was a step in the right direction; but 
there must be further progress before the promised land is reached, 
and a real spiritual life attained without robbing the graveyard of 
a decayed, lifeless body which will never be permitted to enter the 
Kingdom of God. 

ANCIENT HISTORY 

^sop's fables, the poems of Homer, and the history of other nations 
are more ancient than the book of Genesis. It must be that there 
were many people in this world of ours before it was created, if the 
Bible is true. The most of us who are progressives and up to date 
know the Bible is no better than the men who wrote it, and we will 
not be fooled by professional Christians who call it the ^^Word of 
God" when much of it was written by liars and the leading char- 
acters in it are murderers, robbers, confiscators, slave owners, and 
adulterers. Inasmuch as the names of many of the writers were 
withheld and are not known we assume that their characters were 
bad. 

When ministers preach things they know are not true they are no 
better than other liars who think they have to lie to make an easy 
living. 

FOREIGN MISSIONS 

Do not be foolish and squander your money by giving it to those 
who are going into foreign countries to teach the dogmas of Chris- 
tianity which are not true. If you have surplus wealth and want 
to make good use of it, in the name of godliness give of your sub- 
stance to those who preach justice, mercy, righteousness, brotherly 
love, and care for the poor, sick, and afflicted in all parts of the world; 
and you will be worshipping the true God, our Creator, and laying up 
treasures for eternity. 

When we try to make Christians of the Chinese we should re- 



76 THE BOOK OF TRUTH 

member that Confucius believed in God and so do his followers, and 
that the Chinese as a race are just as honest as the Christians, and 
worship God our Creator and do not believe in gods made of mud or 
born of women. 

CHRIST 

According to the Scriptures, Joseph, the father of Christ, who had 
murder in his heart, would have killed Mary, the mother of Christ, 
before he was born if it had not been for a dream — which is not a 
reality. Thus the world would have been without a Christ, unless the 
priests had found another to take his place, which would have been 
very easy for them to do in those days. The orthodox church of 
to-day would never have known the difference; and a substitute for 
Christ would have answered the purpose just as well, provided the 
priests could still hold their jobs of preaching a religion which was 
giving them an income to meet their expenses, and a religion to soothe 
and comfort their followers. Christ has been magnified to such an 
extent some people call him God, but he never was anything but a 
teacher. He has done a good work for us and we should be thankful 
for it. Christ said, ^' My God, My God, why hast thou forsaken me? " 
This does not indicate that Christ claimed to be God, but a godly 
man such as we should be. No one in the body except an insane 
person would claim to be God the Creator of all the worlds. If 
Christ did this he should never have been killed, but put in a lunatic 
asylum, providing he was dangerous. But he was more sane than 
those who believe the dogmas of the Christian Church as they are 
now preached by the orthodox churches. The name God as applied 
to religious teachers is only a title given them by men because they 
are considered godly enough to live and breathe the pure spiritual 
atmosphere of God's heavenly kingdom. If Christ came forth out 
of the grave after his death without the assistance of a priest, all 
of the just should be able to do so. 

The men who crucified Christ did not do it for an atonement; nor 
do executioners of any nation or tribe do so for that purpose. 

The Scriptures say that Christ was illiterate. There is no record 
that he ever wrote his name or was well educated. The Apostle 
Paul never saw him and he knew no more about him than we do, 



FUTURE RELIGION OF THE WORLD 77 

but he says he had a vision, which must have been after eating a 
hearty meal or drinking too much wine. To-day if persons have 
visions, dreams, and see ghosts, we think they are a little ^^off." 
No one knows the day or month when Jesus was born. The date 
agreed upon as the time of his birth is only a guess. God had no 
more to do with the Christian religion than he did with other ancient 
religions which were a product of imaginations. The portrait of 
Jesus is only a vision of the artist who never saw him or a likeness 
of him. The original pictures of the different nations of Jesus all 
look dijfferent. He had one good quality — he did his own thinking. 
That is more than many of his followers ever did. 

If Christ is the son of God we all are the sons of God, but none 
of us are God our Creator. The reason some of us do not know 
the difference between man and God is that we never saw God, and 
we have a poor conception of Him when we mistake a man for God. 
It is worse than to mistake a monkey for a man. It may be a com- 
pliment to the monkey, but rather hard on humanity. 

Christ is not in the flesh. He is dead. He cannot do anything 
for us here on earth; neither can he do anything for us in eternity. 
The Jews condemned Jesus and took him for an impostor. We 
cannot make people good by killing some of our best men or make 
a man God by crucifying him. Jesus showed his humanity and that 
he was nothing but a man when he said, ^'My God! Why hast 
thou forsaken me?" No live man in the body ever saw God at any 
time, but they have seen Christ. If the Bible is the Word of God, 
how can Christ be God? 

If Christ did say, ^^No man cometh unto the Father but by me" 
it is not true. Bilhons have come unto the Father who never heard 
of Christ. No one but an egotist would say such a thing as that. 
We should be God's good soldiers and never surrender to priests who 
preach such nonsense or contribute to their support. Joseph Priestly 
in the seventeenth century, who was one of the wise men of his day, ex- 
pressed the beHef that Christ was no more than a man and that it 
was idolatry to worship him. I think we should honor his judgment 
and glorify God. If Christ had been killed with a dagger, that 
would have been the sign of the Christian religion; but that or the 



78 THE BOOK OF TRUTH 

cross does not indicate godliness — rather butchery. How can 
Christ be God when we know God has no favorites and Christ had? 
Men of reason, intelligence, and wisdom know the truth when they 
hear it. Even if Jesus did say: ^^He that eateth my flesh and 
drinketh my blood hath everlasting life,'' that does not make it so. 
A spirit has no flesh or blood; neither has a man after he has been 
dead for a few years. It is a myth, or what we call figurative lan- 
guage. Jesus knew his followers were not cannibals. The Eucharist 
is only a symbol, not a reality. If it was it would not give a bad 
man eternal life. The history of the past and our reason, if prop- 
erly developed, tell us that God never raised the spirit of the dead, 
for the spirit never dies and needs no resurrection. If a man should 
make the statements now which the Scriptures say Jesus did we 
would think that he was a lunatic. The times then were the same 
as they are now. Jesus did not give his disciples his body and blood 
at the supper, for he was alive at that time, so he must have given 
them a substitute for his blood and body. There is nothing out- 
side of the Bible to substantiate the cures and miracles of Jesus, 
and the whole business may be a myth. Such things as these, if 
true, would be in the history of the Jews. When a man says that 
he can do the things that God can do he must be a little ^^off,'' and 
those who believe it are more so. No one should take Jesus for a 
tank of blood or a refrigerator full of fresh meat to save others from 
starving. Neither did his brethren — James, Joseph, Simon, and 
Judas — believe on him (John 7:5). Why should we? Jesus was 
a common name among the Jews. Josephus in his original writings 
refers to many persons of that name, but none as God or the Saviour 
of the world. If the cures and miracles of Jesus were true he would 
have given the full particulars. If the Jews had thought Jesus was 
the Saviour of the world or God they never would have persecuted his 
followers after his death, for they loved and feared God. 

When we call Jesus our God we are belitthng and making our 
Creator smaller and just the size of a man. It may be a high com- 
pliment to Jesus, but it is an insult to God our Creator. It took 
thirty years for Jesus' friends to find out that he was anything but 
a man, and the only thing that they were sure of was that he knew 



FUTURE RELIGION OF THE WORLD 79 

more than they did. The apostles and Scripture makers seem to 
have put upon the Hfe of Jesus, after he was dead, their own opinions, 
and added anything that would make a success of their cause. On 
subjects where Jesus was silent they filled in the blank. If Christ 
had ever lived in heaven millions of years before he was born into 
this world he never would have left such a happy place for a world 
like this and worked at the carpenter trade. Granting he had done 
so, he never would have kept to himself for over thirty years the 
glorious news from heaven before he told his friends about it. He 
left the world very suddenly without telling about the future hfe 
after the death of the body, so he must have been absent-minded, 
as most of us would have been if we had been in his place at that 
time. If we mistake not, Jesus never said anything about having 
Sunday-schools to teach children the dogmas of the church, which 
they are unable to understand; nor did he advise his followers to 
read the Bible daily, for they had no Bible; nor to pray four times 
a day when they should be at work. Christ did not expect the 
minority to cast their reason aside and accept a creed made by 
a majority vote or be expelled from his church and called heretics. 
We think that he wanted us to have religious liberty such as he 
had, though he lost his life by it, and desired us to accept his gospel 
of goodness by working to better the condition of God's people in 
this world. 

Jesus said at his second coming the stars are to fall from heaven, 
the earth is to be shaken, the trumpet is to sound, and he is to appear 
in the sky. ^^This generation shall not pass away until all these 
things be fulfilled." This is not true. Is Jesus a liar or the Scrip- 
ture makers? This was said nineteen hundred years ago and he 
has not yet put in an appearance. That generation has passed away. 
Jesus is not accountable for what the Scripture makers wrote over 
three hundred and fifty years after he was dead. If there is a dam- 
nable sin in this world it is to deceive, knowingly, men, women, and 
children on their death-bed. When a minister admits that the story 
of the birth, resurrection, and ascension of Jesus is not true he vir- 
tually admits that the Christian religion is a fraud and an imposition 
upon the public. Yet it is honorable to preach the good teachings of 



8o THE BOOK OF TRUTH 

Jesus and all others which will make the world better, if they are 
true and are not used to swindle the public. 

The savages thousands of years before the days of Jesus had a 
conception of a Supreme Being, and justice, truth, righteousness, 
and unselfishness as a divine element in their religion. The birth 
or death of Jesus made no change in the laws of nature. Some of 
his teachings were like the teachings of many others that made the 
world better, but that does not indicate that they are gods. Devils 
will teach goodness when they can make more money by it than to 
teach devilishness. Jesus was not a devil or a god, but a man among 
men. 

That which survives the grave is not to be seen in this world. God 
expects us to have faith in Him, but not in prayer peddlers, indul- 
gence sellers, or false gods. We can be righteous and godly without 
knowing anything about Christianity. There were millions in the 
world before Christ was born and there are millions now who are not 
Christians but are godly people. 

Jesus never advocated free hospitals for the sick, insane, and 
afSicted, or free public schools, free libraries, free dispensaries, 
almshouses for the poor and for aged men and women, free 
homes for the motherless and fatherless children, and societies to 
prevent vice and cruelty to children and animals. He never con- 
demned slavery or mormonism. He left to the world a religion 
which was the foundation of the Roman Catholic Christian Church, 
which was practically the only Christian Church for the first fifteen 
hundred years after his birth, and history informs us they murdered 
in the most cruel manner over fifty millions of men, women, and 
children because they would not accept his religion and acknowledge 
him as their God. At the present time some of his ministers shave 
all the hair off their faces and the tops of their heads, put on long 
pious faces with their gowns and robes, and declare that he is God, the 
only perfect man ever born of a virgin. 

Jesus' ignorant followers took him to be God because he was wise 
and tried to make the world better. He warned them to believe in 
God, who had sent him. Some of us now need the same warning 
that they did, and should heed it with a godly spirit and not show our 



FUTURE RELIGION OF THE WORLD 8i 

ignorance. We know when any one touches us on a sore spot it may 
make us yell but it indicates to the doctor where the trouble is. 

Jesus said, "Why callest thou me good? There is none good but 
one, that is God.'' Which is to say he is not God. We think Jesus 
told the truth. We never thought he was anything but a man* 
Why is it that some people will believe the priest before they will 
Jesus Christ and insist on calling him that which he says he is not. 
Ebionetes considered Jesus nothing but a man; Theodotus in the 
year two hundred taught that Christ was a mere man. According 
to the Scriptures, Jesus said, "He that believeth not shall be con- 
demned." That is a threat which no godly man should be guilty of 
making to get men to accept his gospel. We cannot hold God ac- 
countable for the sayings of Jesus or his apostles. If God instructed 
religious teachers what to say they would agree and all teach the 
same doctrine, which we know they do not. We can please God 
without having faith in robbers, murderers, and false Gods. The 
Scriptures warn us to beware of wolves in sheep's clothing. Catholic 
writers tell us Jesus selected a virgin mother. When we read it we 
feel like thanking God that we were born of a married woman and 
not of a virgin. 

It was about four hundred years after the birth of Jesus before 
the Roman Catholic Church framed and declared the New Testa- 
ment as we now have it, and the most of it was written by the Scrip- 
ture makers after all of those who knew anything about it were dead. 
Those who did not believe in Jesus had no chance to confirm or con- 
tradict it. God's laws of nature contradict the most essential parts 
of the Bible. Jewish history does not make any mention of Jesus' 
cures, miracles, resurrection, or ascension, but there is no doubt that 
it would if they were true. 

If the Bible account of Jesus' birth is true none of us who have 
daughters or a wife would want the Holy Ghost to visit them. Such 
stories were not believed in the days of Jesus any more than they 
would be now. Most of the teachings of Jesus were taken from other 
religious teachers whom he never saw or knew anything about. This 
indicates that the gospels were written by the Scripture makers and 
theologians. 



82 THE BOOK OF TRUTH 

God speaks to us in tones of thunder in the birth of every child 
and in the death of every human being. The story of the birth, 
resurrection, and ascension of Jesus is one of the most detestable 
and ungodly lies since the creation of the world. Be not led astray. 
Read what St. Paul says about your future hope if this story is false. 
Remember there is a God who is a Higher Being than man, who 
created all the planets and the earth on which we live and brought 
us into this world according to His holy laws of nature. He is just 
and impartial. He makes the fruit, grain, and vegetation grow 
so as to provide for His children. He sends the rain and sunshine 
alike upon the just and the unjust. Let us trust in Him who gives 
us life in this world and is the Only Being who is able to give us 
eternal Hfe. 

In some respects Jesus Christ is like George Washington, Abra- 
ham Lincoln, and all the great men of the world, including the most 
noted religious teachers. His life in this world was a blessing to 
mankind and to millions unborn in his day; but none of these men 
were anything but men born of women in nature's only way, which 
has been unchangeable since the creation of the world. Is it not 
more reasonable to believe our God who speaks to us through His 
laws of nature than the Scripture makers who contradict God's 
laws and accuse Him of making exceptions to His own laws and being 
partial and giving a virgin a bad reputation in regard to her moral 
character just for the purpose of making a success of the Christian 
religion, which has caused the slaughter of God's children by Christ's 
followers? 

If Christ had been God he would have had power to protect himself 
against the armies of the world. The Jews would never have cru- 
cified him. Christ looked no different from other men. There was 
nothing about him which indicated that he was anything but a man. 
The story of his birth, resurrection, and taking that million-mile 
journey to heaven in the flesh was never heard of in his time outside 
of a few of his followers, and it looks like a Rip Van Winkle story or 
a fairy tale written long after his death by his friends, who were 
ignorant and superstitious. There is nothing in any of the histories 
of the world outside of the Bible to confirm it. Neither is there any- 



FUTURE RELIGION OF THE WORLD 83 

thing in the laws of nature or God's attributes to corroborate it. 
Are any of us foolish enough to think that Christ is God and created 
the world and knew nothing about geology, astronomy, or the creation 
of the animal kingdom? 

Those who worship Jesus Christ as God are worshipping an idol 
and robbing God of the honor and glory which is due Him and not 
His creatures. Jesus never gave any church or individuals a monopoly 
to teach or preach his gospels. Nearly all of the truths he preached 
were taught by others previous to his birth, and they were not new 
to the world. Truth, justice, brotherly love, charity, and toleration 
should be preached because these things contribute to godliness, and 
not because some one dear to us taught us them. Sectarian Chris- 
tians are bigotted, cruel, and ungodly when they refuse fellowship 
with godly men who do not pretend to be Christians yet who believe 
in the same truths and teachings which Jesus taught and in the same 
God that he did. 

There are over two hundred different kinds of Christians and they 
all believe in Christ, but none of them agree with each other in all 
particulars. The Scripture makers' Christ of the New Testament 
had no expectation of a spiritual life after the death of the body. 
Christ expected a resurrection of the earthly body and a heavenly 
life in the body, which did not materialize, and which is prohibited 
by God's holy laws of the universe. 

Christ's birth 

If the birth of a human being is due to the conjimction of two 
psychomeres derived from opposite sexes in one case it is the same in 
all cases. Jesus was no exception to the rule of God's unchangeable 
laws of nature. It is ungodly for the Scripture makers or any one 
else to worship the so-called Virgin Mary or accuse God of violating 
His own laws for the purpose of making mankind Christians. The 
Father, Son, and Holy Ghost are no more one God than yourself, a 
cat, and a dog are one. There is no mystery about that which is 
not true. When we worship our Creator as God and live a godly, 
righteous life our belief in myths, miracles, and black arts will dis- 
appear, providing we do our own thinking and do not need a trustee 



84 THE BOOK OF TRUTH 

to take charge of our estate so we will not be robbed by religious 
swindlers. 

^^When as his mother Mary was espoused to Joseph before they 
came together she was found with child" (St. Matthew i:i8). If 
this be true why call Joseph his father? This same Joseph, called a 
just man, was about to commit murder and put her away privily. 
Joseph, being like many of the characters of the Bible, a dreamer, did 
not commit the crime. He believed in a revelation, which no jury 
would in these days if it was said to have happened, because it is not 
in accordance with the laws of nature. Joseph was a free moral agent. 
He was at liberty to commit the crime and suffer the penalty, but if he 
had that would have been the last of Christ and his gospel. No child 
has ever been brought into the world in such a way as it is claimed 
Jesus was. There is nothing outside the Bible to corroborate or in 
any way afl&rm this story. Wise men called the boy Jesus, King of 
the Jews, and took him to be born of a woman like all others. His 
appearance from the time he was born until his death was no different 
from that of other men. Herod, the old brute, surmised that the 
friends of Jesus were looking after his throne. The prophets had no 
expectations of making a god of him. Their desire was only to have 
him for an earthly ruler. There is a moral to be learned in this 
story. Put not away the unborn child privily, for it may be a 
saviour and a blessing to you in your old age. Sin not and you will 
profit l>y it. If it be preached that Christ rose from the dead, that 
does not make it so. There never has been but one life to live in the 
body or ever will be. It is the unchangeable law of God which has 
existed ever since the creation of the world. In order to have eternal 
life our Creator does not require us to sacrifice our intelligence, or 
reason, or to beheve that Christ is anything but a man. Jesus said, 
• * Father, unto thy hands I commend my spirit. " This is the same as 
men say now to their Heavenly Father. God's laws in relation to the 
animal kingdom in regard to propagation include the human race and 
the vegetable kingdom. There has to be male and female or no in- 
crease. If we have no roosters with our hens it means no chickens. 
The eggs have no germ of life and will not hatch. We do not have to 
read the Bible to know the truth about these things. No Scripture 



FUTURE RELIGION OF THE WORLD 85 

liars should be able to convince us of things which we know are not 
true and contrary to God's laws of nature. The Scriptures say that 
Christ was numbered with the wicked; but that did not make him 
wicked. He was, however, a violator of his country's laws and suf- 
fered the penalty. This was not God's fault or reason why we should 
worship him or make him our God and Saviour. Christ never had the 
intelligence of a Daniel Webster or an Abraham Lincoln. ''The 
Book of Truth" will reveal to the wise and all mankind the only 
true God, the Savioiu: of the world, if people will read it and use the 
reason and intelligence which God will give them in their days of 
maturity. Thus their last days may be their best days, and all things 
will work together for good, so that the death of the body will be the 
joy, glory, and victory of the spirit, which is the supreme end of our 
earthly existence. 

The supernatural birth of any child is contrary to God's holy laws 
of nature. So is the resurrection of a dead body. The history of 
the world stamps it as a fraud and an imposition on the public. The 
ascension of a dead body or a live one to heaven is an utter impos- 
sibility, and these facts shatter it to atoms and molecules. There 
can be no revelation from God in the things that took place here on 
earth and are known by every one the same as a history of the nation, 
and it is a misnomer to call such writings of men the Word of God. 
If Christ was to die for the world there was no hurry about it. He 
could just as well have waited a few hundred years longer and have 
died a natural death, for no one was suffering on account of his pres- 
ence in this world, and there is no positive evidence that he has done 
anything for us in the next. Christ is no more a saviour than Abra- 
ham Lincoln, for Christ could not save himself or free the slaves of this 
world. 

Christ in some respects is like us. What he did for the world was 
when he was alive, for none of us can do anything for the living after 
we are dead. It is only bad men who can do something for the world 
by dying, thus making it a little better. Christmas, originally, was a 
day to make presents to the father and mother of a new-born babe, 
but nowadays to all mankind, including grafters, devils, and the un- 
worthy as well as the godly. If the Scripture makers lied about the 



86 THE BOOK OF TRUTH 

way Jesus came into this world they lied about his cures of all manner 
of diseases, miracles, resurrection, and ascension, and for the same 
purpose — to put his gospel upon the market. If they are false in re- 
gard to facts in one case they are false in all. Divine intelligence has 
no use for jugglers, magicians, or liars to convince God^s children 
who is their Father and Creator. 

THE STORY OF CHRIST 

We cannot believe the story of Christ's birth, resurrection, and of 
his going to heaven alive in the body simply because we find it in 
the Bible. This story reads like fiction, because it is fiction. It is 
much easier to believe God than theologians and Scripture makers 
who were about to establish a new religion and place it on the market 
to serve their followers and as a protection for their lives in this 
world. 

There have been millions of folk who have suffered death for vio- 
lating bad laws, who did not pretend to be the Christ. These were 
not God 's laws but men 's, and it is wrong to hold God accountable for 
the crimes of free moral agents and wicked men. 

Christ did not believe that God required the shedding of the blood 
of sheep and lambs to make peace with Him. It was the priests who 
required this. The priests in the days of Christ did not believe in 
shedding the blood of men, for they were not criminals. Neither do 
we think that God is a cannibal; but some of our Christian friends 
seem to believe in dogmas which, if true, make Him such. Christ is 
not God in the flesh, for he is not in the flesh. His body is dead and 
has returned to the mother earth from whence it came. If God is a 
spirit and has no hands how can Christ, who had hands, be God, or 
how could the people crucify a spirit? The liars of old and their suc- 
cessors are having a hard time to make those who are wise believe 
their story. It is very hard to beHeve that a virgin is the mother of a 
God who created thousands of worlds which are larger than the earth 
in which we live, and that this child was before its mother and the 
world existed. This leads us to ask, ^^ What is the matter with the 
theologians? Are they crazy or fools, or do they suppose that their 
hearers are and will swallow their teachings?" 



FUTURE RELIGION OF THE WORLD 87 

Christ's ascension 

During the first and second centuries most of the Christians be- 
lieved that Christ, after he was crucified, came to life again and 
walked leisurely out of the tomb, visited his friends and took supper 
with them, and went to heaven alive in the flesh, and they expected 
to do the same after their death and be with him in glory for all 
eternity. That was what they had been taught, and they knew no 
better. The Catholic Christian martyrs who were burned to death 
because they would not worship idols expected this, in the first and 
second century, and they willingly gave up their lives and endured 
the suffering with the expectation of being in the body with Christ 
in his heavenly home. They thought it would not be long before 
the world would come to an end and that Christ would judge all 
mankind; that God our Creator and Heavenly Father was a back 
number and had nothing to say about it, that Christ was all in all. 
This was the kind of Christianity which was rejected by the Jews. 
What a wonderful change the preachers and priests have made in 
teaching Christianity within the last seventeen hundred years, but 
the Jews now believe in the same God that they did five thousand 
years ago. God has not changed, neither have the Jews. They 
still wear the same old faces they did then, but they do not worship 
idols, images, or a man who was born of woman as God. They wor- 
ship the only true God, our Maker and Creator, who was before the 
world and who will be for all eternity. That is the God we should 
worship and have godliness in church unity. There is only one 
quality of godliness, but many of Christianity. ^^The Jews therefore 
marvelled saying, ^How knoweth this man letters, having never 
learned."' (St. John 6:14-15.) Jesus was not what they called 
in his time an educated man, but what we call now an ignorant one. 
Yet he was not lacking in good judgment. 

BLOOD OF CHRIST 

When the ministers can make cannibals of their subjects and get 
them to believe that grape wine bought at a gin mill is the real blood 
of a man who died about nineteen hundred years ago, and that it is 



88 THE BOOK OF TRUTH 

perfectly wholesome, we naturally suppose there is no religious 
liberty of the mind with people of this type. It is a slavery of the 
intelligence which is worse than slavery of the body. If we should 
ask some of the priests if they could prove this teaching to be true 
by the Bible they would be honest enough to say, ^^Yes, we can 
prove almost anything by it we want to, for it was our society that 
wrote it." There is no mystery about righteousness or the truth. 
If we cannot make a man a Christian or godly without a miracle or 
sleight-of-hand performance he is not worth the making. They 
used to make men Christians on the New York Bowery by giving 
them a place to sleep, a suit of clothes, and all they wanted to eat 
without work, and then preach that they were saved by the blood of 
Christ. Within thirty days these same men would be found in prison 
for robbery. 

The ministers tell us that it is the blood of Christ which saves us 
from our sins. That is, virtually, to say that if some one had not 
killed Jesus we would all have gone to the devil. Many believe it 
because it was taught them in the childhood days. The most in- 
telligent animals, such as the elephant, horse, or dog, could not be 
taught to believe such nonsense, because it is contrary to nature. 
Yet we can teach them to be good and love us by being kind to them 
and providing for their wants. 

Christianity as taught in the New Testament is contrary to the 

laws of nature and it should not be taken for godliness, which is 

true to nature because it comes from God, the fountain head of all 

godliness. 

Christ's coming 

God's gracious gift of divine grace in the soul of mankind rendered 
unnecessary the coming of Jesus Christ, and this gift is now the same 
as it was in the days of creation. If Christ said, "My Father is 
greater than I," he told the truth, admitting he was not God; but 
some of his followers are trying to make a god of him, just as those 
who worship snakes and images make gods of them. 

If God was in Christ "reconciling the world," He is in us in the 
same sense and in no other. "And Christ saith, ^All power in heaven 
and in earth is given to me.'" That is not true. We do not care 



FUTURE RELIGION OF THE WORLD 89 

who said it, because it is false in every particular. Christ never had 
any such power. '^And there is no salvation by any other name under 
heaven but the name of Jesus." That is not true. Salvation comes 
from God our Creator and not from a man born of woman. 

Christ's teachings 

I do not believe in all of the teachings as printed in the New Testa- 
ment and which were written by different authors. Why should 
I? It is no sin against God or man for us to do our own thinking. 
In what particulars I disagree can be found in this book under head- 
ings on the different subjects. Christ did not die and give his life 
for the sins of the world. He said, ^'If it be possible, let this cup 
pass from me." One man cannot eat, drink, sleep, or breathe for 
another. Let us be just and not accuse God of bringing any man into 
the world to be crucified. He allows us to choose good or evil, and 
we have to abide by our choice. 

No one can die for another unwillingly. It was men who crucified 
Christ and not God. It may be Christianity to say to the world, 
'^Believe in the Lord Jesus Christ and be saved; believe not and 
be damned," but it is not godliness. We know the shortness and 
uncertainty of human life, but not much about eternity. 

Christ's cures 

Do not take all the cures said to have been performed by Jesus 
seriously. They read like fiction because they are fiction. We have 
not Christ's word for it, but the word of others many years after he 
was dead, and he did not have a chance to contradict them. He was 
only a human being. He could not live without food, drink, sleep, 
and air to breathe. It was nonsense to think otherwise. 

The world would be much better if all of these false gods were 
abolished from the minds of men, and ministers would preach the 
only true God our Creator and maker of nature's laws. It is a mis- 
take to think that we have to be a devil and lie like the devil to make 
our children good, for they were born good and it is our duty to keep 
them good by kindness and by teaching them righteousness, so that 
they may have spirits that are worthy of eternal life. 



90 THE BOOK OF TRUTH 

CHRIST CURED BELIEVERS ONLY 

According to the Scriptures, Christ cured only those who believed 
in him and let the rest die or suffer with their afflictions. If this 
is true he was partial and ungodly and could not have been God, 
who is impartial. The Christian Scientists say they cure not only 
believers, but those who do not believe in them, for the small sum of 
one dollar a visit, so they must be more godly than Christ. With 
this kind of boast they are catching suckers, bullheads, lobsters^ 
and weak-fish by the millions; but it is a shame for the authorities 
to allow many to lose their lives by not making use of the surgeons 
and physicians, who are God's instruments for restoring health. 

Christ's egotism 

According to the Scriptures, Christ said he was before the world 
was; if we have seen him we have seen God the Father; if we reject 
him we reject God the Father; no one can have eternal life except 
through him; there is no salvation but by his name; all power in 
heaven and on earth is given to him; he that beheveth not in him 
shall be condemned; '^no man cometh to the Father but by me,'' 
^^he that eateth my flesh and drinketh my blood hath everlasting 
life." We know these things are not true, and no one but a lunatic 
would claim such things to be true. None of the Jews in the days of 
Christ placed any faith in these sayings except a very few of Christ's 
friends. There has been nothing since the creation of the world to 
corroborate or substantiate these sayings, which are contrary to 
God's laws of nature and are against reason and good common sense. 
Those who believe all of these things are ignorant and are unworthy 
of eternal life. There is a strong argument against the possibility 
of these things being true. 

These facts indicate that Christ was one of the worst egotists that 
ever lived on the face of the earth. God speaks to men through 
men the same now as He ever did, and it may be possible that He 
is speaking through the author of this book, which you can judge 
for yourself. Christ could only have been God to the extent of the 
spiritual godliness within him. He had his faults. He should never 



FUTURE RELIGION OF THE WORLD 91 

have allowed that woman to wipe his feet with the hair of her head. 
No one nowadays would be considered a gentleman who would al- 
low such a thing. We men who are Americans are not following in 
the footsteps of Jesus by wearing our hair long; we let the women wear 
their hair long, and we wear our hair short as long as we can. We 
expect that our spirits will live as long as Christ's does, trusting in 
the same God that he did, and are not foolish enough to trust in our- 
selves, preachers, priests, or a dead Messiah. 

Christ's father 

We have not even the word of Mary, who was Christ's mother, 
that he had no earthly father. All we have is the word of the Scrip- 
ture makers. What business had they to know anything about it? 
We think their object was to make ignorant, weak-minded people 
believe that Christ's birth was a miracle and get them to be his fol- 
lowers. We also think that these writers were liars. Mary was a 
good woman and a godly mother. God's laws are not like the 
minds of men, but are unchangeable. If it is right for God or a 
good man to have criminal intercourse wdth a virgin it is right for 
any single man. I have not the depravity to accuse my God of wrong 
so as to make my religion respectable. It is not our object to destroy 
any of the buildings of God, but only to take out the rotten timber 
and crumbling stone and replace them with the rock of ages — the 
truth which is revealed to us and should be known to God's children. 

Christ's gospel 
The gospel of good tidings, as they used to preach it in the six- 
teenth century, was '^If you do not believe in Christ, you will get 
roasted in this world and be damned in the next," which was a very 
convincing argument about the time the fire began to get hot. If 
Christ had come to life after his death he would have called upon 
his mother and father like a good son; then upon his followers, and 
revealed what he knew about death and eternity; but dead men never 
reveal secrets or leave any messages to save the lives of others. 
Most of the teachings of Christ were written by other religious 
teachers hundreds of years before he was born, and his gospels were 



92 THE BOOK OF TRUTH 

all written after his death by what we call sectarian Scripture makers, 
who were anxious to establish his church and make a success of his 
gospel. They had no regard for the truth, but wrote everything 
which they thought would make converts — such as, that Christ 
was before the world was; that he is God and was born of a virgin 
contrary to the laws of nature; that he was dead and came to life 
again; that he went to heaven alive in the body and is going to build 
a mansion in the skies for his followers; also that he healed all man- 
ner of diseases, performed miracles and other tricks, none of which 
are substantiated by any evidence whatsoever outside of the Bible, 
and are contrary to reason, history, and God's laws of nature. We 
should be willing to adopt the teaching of all religious teachers that 
are just, righteous, and godly, but we should worship only the true 
God who made the sun, moon, stars, and all the planets, and gave 
us ears to hear the truth, eyes to behold His creation, and reason so 
we can choose good from evil and live a godly, righteous life — for 
our only hope of life eternal is in God and not in Christ, who was 
born a baby, of a woman the same as all of us were, according to 
God's laws of nature. Trust in God, but beware of false teachers 
and swindlers who are following their professions for filthy lucre. 

Christ's enemies 

Christ was crucified by his enemies. God had nothing to do 
with it any more than He has nowadays when men are punished in 
this world by men. Christ was never the judge of this world, but 
was judged by others for violating the laws of his country and found 
guilty. No man born of woman will ever be the judge of the dead. 
God has enough righteous beings in His kingdom to judge all human- 
ity without coming to earth for them. 

It appears from the Scriptures that Christ's followers did many 
things that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the prophets. 
Now his ministers want the world to give the prophets due credit 
for their true prophecy, while this kind of fulfillment does not go to 
show the divinity of Christ, who prayed, saying: "Father, if thou 
be willing, remove this cup from me," which showed his humanity 
— that he was not our God, but that his God is our God. 



FUTURE RELIGION OF THE WORLD 93 

CHRIST, THE RANSOM 

Is it possible that the man Jesus Christ gave himself to be a ransom 
for all mankind, though by cruel and wicked hands he was crucified 
and slain as a transgressor? Wherein does he give himself when he 
was slain without his consent, as all criminals were in his day? Let 
us be honest, search for truth, and shame the devil. If Jesus was 
a substitute for all sinners, how can he expect to have eternal life, 
unless it is a gift of God to him and all humanity, for God is no re- 
specter of persons. There is nothing in nature that indicates that 
Jesus or any religious teacher is anything but a man, while every- 
thing in nature indicates there is a being greater and higher than 
man, whom we call God. Do you think Jesus died for our sins 
before we committed them and even before we were born? No one 
ever saw God at any time. If he had, he never would take Jesus or 
any other man for God. 

Christ's sake 

We are foolish to make ourselves miserable in this world for Christ's 
sake or the sake of a sectarian church. God does not require it. 
There is no need of it. It is more reasonable for a woman to make 
herself unhappy for the sake of her children, especially if she has a 
brutal, drunken husband; and in such cases, sometimes, it is far 
better to ^^ depart from wickedness" if she is able to take her children 
with her, and try to be happy in this world. It is not the blood of 
Christ which makes people better in this world. It is righteous 
teaching. 

It is flesh and blood sometimes which makes the world worse. 
Righteousness does not always come from martyrs. Often men 
sacrifice their lives for an ungodly cause. God's truth can be re- 
ceived without the sacrifice of blood, by just accepting His love. 

SAVIOURS 

History tells us there were fifteen persons previous to the days of 
Jesus who pretended to be the Saviour of the World, each of whom 
had his followers. All of them belonged to the same class and should 



94 THE BOOK OF TRUTH 

have been examined in regard to their sanity. There is no doubt that 
they were perfectly harmless, but a little "off," like Jesus. If some 
of them had appointed twelve apostles, as Jesus did, to teach and 
preach, and had a Romanist Church to advertise the teaching, we 
should have known much more about them. But it is just as well 
as it is, for the world needs no saviour except God our Creator, 
Saviour, and Redeemer, who was not born of woman and was before 
the worlds were. 

"I, even I, am the Lord; and besides me there is no saviour." 
(Isaiah 43:11.) 

I quote this Scripture only for what it is worth. If this is the 
Word of God, where does Jesus Christ come in as our Saviour? It 
surely indicates God's people do not need any other God or saviour 
in this world or in the next. We should remember that this quotation 
is taken from the Old Testament, written before the days of Jesus. 
In the Dark Ages the sheep used to take their shepherd for their 
saviour to protect them from beasts of prey. The Jews were looking 
for a saviour to protect them from their enemies while in this world, 
but had no use for one to care for them in the next. In the days of 
Jesus the preachers claimed they had a saviour who would save the 
people if they would worship and believe in him. The preachers 
were of no burden to the church then, for most of them supported 
themselves; but in a few hundred years the preachers were supported 
by the church, without work, as professionals, and they have been 
making the church support them ever since. 

CHRISTIANS AND POISON 

The Scriptures tell us, "They that believe in Christ can take up 
serpents, and if they drink any deadly thing it shall not hurt them." 
That is not true. Many have tried it and have lost their lives. Is 
not the Bible responsible for it? It is a very bad book and dangerous 
to children and ignorant Christians who read it, and it should be 
revised. 

Christ never caused the arrest, prosecution, or persecution of poor 
unfortunate women alone by themselves, or had them driven out of 
one house to some other, or tried to make them godly or virtuous 



FUTURE RELIGION OF THE WORLD 95 

by statutory provisions. His only way to make them good was by 
teaching them righteousness and using moral suasion. 

There are too many church members who do not try to reform those 
who need it most, being afraid of soiling their kid gloves, which were 
taken off one animal and put on another. 

CRIMES OF CHRISTIANS 

Servetus, a physician, who was well educated and a godly man, but 
not one of the Calvin orthodox kind, was accused in Geneva, under 
Calvin's influence, of erroneous teaching and of being a heretic because 
he used his reason to the best of his ability. He was condemned and 
burned to death on October 27, 1553. John Calvin, the founder 
of the Presbyterian Church, approved of his being put to death. 
If this is the original and pure Presbyterianism, good Lord deliver 
us for the sake of humanity, and may the day soon come when the 
people of all the world will worship God and forsake all '4sms.'' 

On the evening of St. Bartholomew's Day, August 23, 1572, in 
France, a mob of about sixty thousand Roman Catholic Christians 
went through the streets putting to death all the Protestants they 
were able to find. Within two months over one hundred thousand 
Huguenots were butchered by a Catholic Church mob because they 
were Protestants. This is a fair specimen of Roman Catholic Chris- 
tian intolerance and the quality of their religion at that time. 

John Huss and Jerome of Prague exposed the errors and corruption 
in the Roman Christian Church, and they were persecuted for so 
doing. In July, 141 5, John Huss was [burned to death for being 
what the Roman CathoHc Christian Church called a ^^ heretic," 
and the next year Jerome of Prague suffered the same fate. They 
were righteous and godly men and condemned corruption and un- 
godliness in and out of the Church. In those days it was, ^'Believe 
in Jesus Christ," as the priest teaches and dictates, "and be saved," 
or "believe not and be damned," and burned at the stake at the 
behest of the church. This is not godliness, but the fruit of the only 
original Christian Church, and practically the only Christian Church 
previous to the fourteenth century, which was a poor substitute for 
justice and godliness. I beseech you to abolish original Christianity 



96 THE BOOK OF TRUTH 

and put your trust in God, the only Saviour of the world, and not in 
the dead body of a man born in ignorance and egotism of a woman, 
and whose father was a man who had murder in his heart. We should 
not expect Jesus to walk out of the grave alive after he has been 
buried in the earth for about two thousand years. 

It is reported that previous to 1809, over 31,912 persons had been 
burned alive in Spain for being what the Catholics called ^^ heretics." 
Wherever Napoleon ruled he put a stop to these ungodly murders. 
In many places in the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries, when the 
government was controlled by Christians, it was not safe for any one 
to live among these Roman Catholic Christians unless they accepted 
their dogmas and faith, for they were liable to be put to death at any 
time — in the name of Christianity, that glorious religion and faith 
of our fathers we hear so much about in the churches at the present 
time. 

The Chibchas believed that the sacrifices which were the most wel- 
come to their gods were those of human blood, robbery, and murder. 
Says Burton of the Beloochis: ^^ These pious frauds never rob save 
in the name of Allah. They are like the Roman Catholic Christians 
who used to murder and rob in the name of their God — who must 
have been the devil, if we judge them by the crimes they committed.'^ 
The Bible says, *^Thou shalt not permit a witch to live" — that is, 
those who used to do their own religious thinking. Christians have 
killed about nine million of them. If the Church holds fast to her old 
murderous dogmas, why doesn't she continue to murder witches? It 
is because godly nations will no longer permit such butcheries by 
Christians. 

The Roman Catholic Christian Church used to massacre the 
Protestants in Holland and in Spain, where they burned over nine 
thousand at the stake. The devil can claim to be infallible at will, 
and be a devil still. It is not true if a man offend against one law 
or commandment, he offends against all. Those who teach that do not 
know the first principles of law, justice, or righteousness. Whoever 
calls that the ''Word of God" is a slanderer of the Deity. Dogmas 
like this spoil men's reasoning power, and make weaklings of those 
who should be giants. What should we think nowadays of a judge 



FUTURE RELIGION OF THE WORLD 97 

who would apply this principle in court and find the prisoner at the 
bar guilty of hundreds of crimes that he did not commit, and of which 
he was not even accused? We should not swallow all the Bible at one 
dose as the truth and the Word of God, for He has not given us the 
stomach to digest it. Praying a robber out of jail is no worse than 
praying a murderer into heaven, supposing that we are able to do either 
or both. 

CHRISTIAN MISSIONARIES 

Most of the Christian missionaries who are sent to foreign coun- 
tries teach the dogmas of the churches which send them, and these 
dogmas are not true. The main object of these missionaries is to 
have the natives accept Christianity as their religion, and just as 
they preach it. They have but little to say about God their Creator; 
with them it is Christ and the way he was born, crucified, came to 
life, and went to heaven in the body to live forever. They used to 
preach that Christ is the only Son of God, but now most of them will 
acknowledge that all of us are the sons of God. They are now preach- 
ing that Christ is God. If they keep on preaching the dogmas of 
the churches those who read ^'The Book of Truth'' may think that 
they are frauds and grafters. There are no gods in the flesh and 
never will be, but it may be possible to develop a spirit worth saving. 

CHRISTIANITY 

Christianity has been greatly improved within the last three 
hundred years by priests and ministers teaching righteousness, toler- 
ation, love, and godliness, which existed thousands of years before 
the birth of Christ, and which comes from God, who should be given 
all the glory and praise for these glorious blessings. Whatever Jesus 
or any of the religious teachers ever did for the world was done while 
they were alive and in the body. After the death of the body it 
was too late. If we want to do anything for mankind we must do 
it while we are alive. Now is the most acceptable time, so that our 
blessings may be handed down from generation to generation and be 
a godsend to many souls unborn. The Egyptians before the days of 
Moses had asylums for the insane, hospitals for the sick, the naked 
were clothed, and the hungry were fed. Christians are not the only 



98 THE BOOK OF TRUTH 

good people in the world — there are others. They should not 
claim everything good in earth and eternity, for God still lives. 

The early Christian Church for more than twelve hundred years 
was no benefit to civilization. It put a stop to the advancement of 
astronomy, geology, and all of the sciences which had anything to do 
with the investigation of the Christian religion. Free speech and 
religious liberty were not allowed in places where Christians could 
suppress it under pain of death. A message from God, if it did not 
agree with their dogmas, was sure death to those who revealed it. 
If the doctrine of eternal punishment is Jesus' good tidings of great 
joy, for the sake of humanity keep it; no one wants it or should be- 
lieve it. If most of us go to hell because we do not beheve Jesus is 
God it will be because we like the climate and the godly people who are 
there. The doctrine of punishment after the death of the body if we do 
not accept Jesus as our Saviour is repulsive, absurd, preposterous, and 
silly. Men born of women cannot give us a spiritual life in eternity. 

There is no class of people who enjoy Christianity as much as the 
honest, simple-minded, ignorant folk. They believe all the preacher 
tells them and are swayed by emotional preaching; they take it 
like a contagious disease, and have faith that they have the only 
true religion which will make men happy, and are willing to live by 
it if it does not cost too much. During revivals it breaks out for 
about a month and a few weeks later vanishes. Simple-minded 
Christians are the easiest men in the world to impose upon, but in- 
fidels are hard to swindle by a confidence game. If any rulers of the 
people on the face of the earth should do now what Moses did in his 
day the priests and preachers would denounce them as robbers, mur- 
derers, butchers, and the most ungodly men that ever lived who pre- 
tended to be godly. Christianity in its early stages was forced down the 
throats of people by fear and coercion, which is devilish and ungodly. 

In the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries, according to history, 
the Roman Catholic Christian Church (which was practically the 
ruling power in various countries) took entire possession of these 
countries, and either banished, reduced to submission, imprisoned, or 
put to death all deserters from the Catholic faith and preached ever- 
lasting damnation of the heathen in the name of Christianity. 



FUTURE RELIGION OF THE WORLD 99 

Those of us who beHeve in religious Hberty should be thankful 
that the Christianity of the past has had its day, and we should be- 
lieve that the time will come when all God's children will know the 
difference between godliness, which is of God, and Christianity; also 
that it is impossible to make a real God and Saviour of the world 
out of a child born of a woman, and who died an unnatural death. 

The real Christianity is the teaching of Christ which comes to us 
at second hand, and the claim of the New Testament that all godli- 
ness comes from Christ, which is worse than teaching that the dark- 
ness, rain, and sunshine come from Christ, thus robbing God and 
deceiving humanity. Give unto God the things which are God's, 
and do not deprive Him of the glory which is due Him in the hearts 
of His children. Do not use the gospel of Christ for a fraudulent, 
selfish purpose. It is not believing in Christ or any other religious 
teacher which makes us honest and good, but believing in God our 
Creator and His laws of nature, righteousness, and eternal life and 
the attributes which He has bestowed upon us. 

The methods used for hundreds of years to put Christianity upon 
the market by forcing the people to swallow it were torture, burning 
alive at the stake, beheading, drowning, persecuting, preaching that 
Jesus was God, and the only being who could save the world and give 
us life eternal, and that he had a mansion in the skies for those who 
believed in him, and that those who did not believe would be eter- 
nally damned. Christ is dead, so we should not blame him for the 
sins of the theologians, the Scripture makers, and the founders of the 
original Christian Church, nor their successors who have established 
a large business and are using it for a livelihood. 

We should beware of a false hope and those who are living at our 
expense by making gods of stone, wood, gold, silver, and dead men 
born of women; we should worship the same God that Buddha, 
Christ, and Confucius did — our Heavenly Father and Creator. 

ORIGINAL CHRISTIANITY 

If the Roman Catholic Christian Church is the only, original, true 
Christian Church, it was the same in the fifteenth, sixteenth, and 
seventeenth centuries when it caused men, women, and children 



loo THE BOOK OF TRUTH 

to be murdered by the millions because they would not accept the 
Catholic religion, thereby committing the most horrid butcheries ever 
known to mankind, all in the name of Christianity, as they understood 
it at that time. 

Original Christianity is the same now as it was then. The dogmas 
of this Church are retained even unto this day; but Christianity 
has been greatly improved by adding ninety and nine per cent, of 
godliness by preaching justice, righteousness, toleration, love, and 
goodness. Yet the Church has given all the credit of the improve- 
ment to Christ, and practically ignored the God who created us 
and the only Being who can give us eternal life in His heavenly 
kingdom. 

The Nicaean Creed, adopted in the year 325 A. D., says, '^I believe 
in the one holy catholic and apostolic church." There were no Prot- 
estant churches at that time. The Roman Catholic is the original 
Catholic Christian Church, and for years they had church unity 
among the Christians; but the true society is the Church of God 
our Creator, which is the rock of ages and the only foundation to 
build upon to have church unity in all the worlds. 

The quicker we stop making gods out of matter the better it will 
be for the world and all future generations. The Church is only a 
society. It is no more a godly institution than many other societies. 
Churches do not care for the deaf, dumb, insane, sick, and needy, ac- 
cording to their number, to as great an extent as do some other insti- 
tutions that are called by different names. 

CHRISTIANITY A DRAMA 

The orthodox Christian religion, after forty years of investigation, 
looks to me more like a drama than a reality. The world is its 
stage; the good, bad, wise, and simple-minded foolish people are its 
actors and hearers. It commences with creation, which is fiction; it 
wades through rivers of blood of millions of innocent human beings 
who were slaughtered by Roman Catholic Christians because they 
would not accept it as a reality. It is soothing, comforting, and 
forgiving to the robber, murderer, godly, and ungodly. It is de- 
ceptive in giving us hope that our spirits will again occupy our de- 



FUTURE RELIGION OF THE WORLD loi 

ceased bodies which have decayed and returned to mother earth. 
The drama closes and lands some of us in heaven; the rest in eternal 
hell where they must forever dwell. 

CHRISTIANITY IS HONORABLE 

Christianity is honorable if it is what some ministers preach, but 
should not be used as a scarecrow to get poor, ignorant people to 
accept it so they will give up their mite. Neither should godly 
men be persecuted if they refuse to believe it, as they have been in 
the past. 

It is honorable to preach Christianity when it is godliness, rightly 
and truthfully taught; but the way many teach it is anti-godliness, 
selfishness, and a humbug. 

Christ is not God. Neither is God Christ. Jesus found this to 
be true when he was unable to save his own life and suffered death 
upon the cross. 

We should accept Christ's teaching and manliness for w^hat they 
are, and hold fast to God's godliness and acknowledge God as our 
Creator, Redeemer, and Heavenly Father. We should not, in order 
to become a member of any church, afl&rm that which we do not 
believe or accept a substitute for God. 

THE CHURCH 

God makes no distinction between the rich or poor, the master 
or the servant, the wise or the ignorant. How can man, and be 
godly? One of the best things in some churches is social worship. 
It is religious teaching and godly instruction that make the working 
people in the Catholic Church honest enough to pay their debts when 
they are able to do so, and that keep their girls virtuous. So the 
Church is known by its fruit and not by its dogmas. At the time 
Jesus was crucified his Church was not a success. There was prac- 
tically no Church; only a handful of his followers. When all truth 
and godliness are known to be divine the world will accept them and 
unite in one Church, founded on God our Creator. The meeting- 
house where the church holds its meetings is no more sacred than the 
Jipuses of many families. There is nothing in the material of which 



I02 THE BOOK OF TRUTH 

the church is built that is sacred, but it should not be turned into a 
gambling hell. We can make the world better by teaching the 
girls how to sew, cook, keep house, care for the sick, and the way to 
be saving and make an honest, virtuous living. What is true of 
the girls is true of the boys in their sphere of life. If the churches 
are godly institutions their houses of worship should not be allowed 
to remain closed six days out of seven. It is far better to allow the 
young people to dance in some of the buildings owned by the church 
than in a hall connected with a beer and whiskey saloon where bad 
people are allowed to mingle with the good and virtuous. If there 
are any people who would enjoy a dance and good music in a respect- 
able place they should have an opportunity to do so, for such enjoy- 
ment is godly. It is playing cards for drinks which makes young 
men drunkards, and free dances where they sell liquors by the drink 
that make boys and girls bad and parents sad. 

There is too much time spent in the churches in praying and in 
reading the Bible. Those who go to church and try to sing them- 
selves to glory and never do anything for the blind, sick, poor, and 
needy are of little use to the church or humanity, and when they 
die they never will be missed. The only thing we can do for God is 
to care for His children who are needy, and thus try to make this 
world better. Let your church be one of righteousness and of jus- 
tice; one of the Fatherhood of God and of the brotherhood of man; 
one of religious liberty and of openness of mind, and one that is ready 
to accept all that is reasonable. Let those who are wise be your 
teachers and preachers. Never destroy the property of any Church. 
If you do, the loss falls upon the just who pay rent and taxes. But 
try to have the owners teach the truth and use the Church for a 
good purpose, if they are not doing it now. Never kill the priests 
or any living being, as Moses did, and put evil away from among you. 
If people are bad, try to make them good, but remember they should 
have religious liberty. 

When we build a church we should dedicate it to God, if it is a 
godly church. If not, let the earthly devils have it. They are re- 
ligious monsters, and are generally opposed to liberty and justice, 
which are emancipators of religious and political despotism. When 



FUTURE RELIGION OF THE WORLD 103 

the common people have a liberal education we can trust to their 
intelligence and righteousness. It is far better for us to follow in the 
footsteps of Washington, Jefferson, Adams, and Lincoln than in those 
of the leading characters of the Old Testament. 

Christianity is sectarianism divided into hundreds of different 
societies, all differing from each other in some particular; but God^s 
true Church contains only godliness, which is righteousness, and 
needs no Trinity liars or indulgence peddlers, because it is of God 
and not of men of the earth. When a society calls itself '^ The Church' ' 
it is selfish, for it indicates that it is the only Church and has a 
monopoly of religion and that God is partial, which is not true. 

CHURCH DOGMAS 

The Roman Catholic Church, according to an American Cardinal, 
teaches that there is one God, who is three persons — the Father, the 
Son, and the Holy Ghost — and that they are perfectly equal to 
each other, so that the Trinity must be composed of one real God 
and two spirits of dead men — what we call dummies. So that 
Holy Ghost and Christ are a majority and rule the kingdom. This 
is one of the greatest of miracles, if true — that God got along so 
well previous to nineteen hundred years ago with two parts gone, the 
spirit of one dead man and one spook. 

The Cardinal tells us that Jesus was begotten before time. That 
may be so, if Jesus was born three or four months after his mother was 
married to Joseph. According to the myth, the disobedience of Adam 
and Eve put God in an ungodly position. He knew that it was wrong 
for us to suffer for the sins of Adam, so He brought Jesus into the 
world and made a scapegoat of him. And if He had not done this 
ungodly act and accepted the blood of an innocent man for the sins of 
the world we would all have been damned for all eternity. Oh, what 
a tale of woe ! Let us thank God it is not true, and die in the arms of 
the God who brought us into this world. 

Christians should not let little questions like immersion or whether 
it is settled when we are born if we are to be saved or to be damned, or 
whether the communion bread, made and baked by Sister O'Brian, is 
the real body of Christ or not, divide them into different sectarian 



I04 THE BOOK OF TRUTH 

societies. The time will come when millions will learn from "The 
Book of Truth" and do their own thinking. These dogmas of the 
churches were written from the memory by theologians and Scrip- 
ture makers many years after the death of Jesus. After the death of 
the body, if God cannot give us a spiritual eternal life no other being 
can. 

The human mind should not be filled with Church dogmas about 
God, man, eternity, and our future state which are not true and are 
the products of dreamers, ignorant men, and those who are not pro- 
ducers, but living off the earnings of others. What living and dying 
men want is the truth, so as not to be misled about the things which 
interest them and their families for all eternity. Many of the min- 
isters consider the ministry a trade and work it for all it is worth. The 
Society of Friends, called Quakers, are an exception. They allow no 
salaries for the support of their ministers, and the quality of their 
preaching shows it and is one of the causes of their decline. It is un- 
godly for sectarians to appeal to the state to make laws to force their 
religion down the throats of others and make them live according to 
it, regardless of the conscience of others who are godly folk and belong 
to a godly society. 

CHURCH MEMBERSHIP 

Godly men should be admitted as members of godly churches even 
if they do not believe in all the dogmas of the Christian Church. It 
would be more reasonable to keep out men who are thieves, robbers, 
and adulterers than men who do not believe in the Trinity or that 
Christ is God. Men who do not believe in the dogmas of a church 
should keep out of it for God^s sake and the sake of mankind, so that 
they will not mislead others. The only Church unity which is worthy 
of the name is to believe in God our Creator and unite with those 
who do righteous acts, and who love justice, mercy, and forgiveness. 

DUTY TO THE CHURCH 

If we belong to a society — whether it be called a church, club, or a 
benevolent institution — we are rightfully expected to pay our share 
of the expenses of maintaining it if we are able to do so. When we at- 
tend a church and hear good music, lectures, or sermons, we are 



FUTURE RELIGION OF THE WORLD 105 

morally under obligation to help pay the expenses of the institution 
which provides them, just as when we attend a theatre. The only 
difference is that at the theatre we pay in advance, and at the church 
they rely upon our honor. It is amazing to see how little honor so 
many people have in this respect. When they attend church they seem 
to be willing and always ready to milk the cow, but not to feed it, give 
it water to drink, or shelter it from the storms of poverty and de- 
struction. We should remember that the church as well as the Lord 
"loveth a cheerful giver, " and we should assist in the good work that 
the church is doing for the poor, needy, sick, and afiflicted. 

CHURCH POLITICS 

When I read the published statements of some of the churches 
stating how many members they have and their mode of counting 
them, so as to swell the number, it reminds me of an old Coney Island 
gang who used to say to the different parties just before election: '^ We 
can swell the number of votes up to (so many) on election day. What 
are we offered for the lot? " This class is generally divided among all 
parties, but goes with the party which will give it the most favors. 
The votes of this class are held as clubs to protect their interests and 
to remind office holders that if they act in opposition to the wishes of 
this society they will have to suffer the penalty when they come up 
for re-election. 

The remedy for this is for every individual, as such, to aboHsh 
sectarianism, ungodly party loyalty, and to be righteous by worship- 
ping the only God, our Creator and Redeemer, and vote accordingly. 

CHURCH REFERENCE 

Men will trust church members whom they know are godly and who 
live up to their convictions and do not make capital of their religion. 
If men use the church and the minister as capital, look out for them; 
but do not condemn the church because some of their members are 
bad. Christ had a Judas in his flock, and it is only the good bank 
bills which are counterfeited; but the genuine are all right and good, 
and are proved to be so by the counterfeits. Those who are in an 
imgodly, immoral business should not expect to get honest clerks, but 



io6 THE BOOK OF TRUTH 

will have to take those who are forced to accept such work so that 
they may support their families. Thieves will not trust thieves, but 
they will trust honest men whom they know are responsible and just. 

CHURCH UNITY 

Unity of doctrine is not found in the Protestant churches, 
because their members do their own thinking, with few exceptions. 
But it is a fact that in the Roman Catholic Church a few do the think- 
ing for all the rest. The priest must preach according to the orders 
of his superiors or get out of the Church. The priest would not dare 
to deliver to his people a message from God if it differed from the dog- 
mas of his Church. If he did they would call him a heretic and expel 
him from the Church in the name of Christ, their God, who was only 
a child born of a woman and now dead. But the real God who still 
lives will care for the just priest who is His faithful messenger, and give 
his spirit eternal life in His kingdom, where the ungodly will trouble 
him no more. 

MESSIAH 

On account of there being so many who pretended that they were 
the Christ, the Messiah and Saviour of mankind (the one the Jews 
were looking for to save them in this world) the law was made which 
caused the crucifixion of Jesus. His death seems to have put a stop 
to the pretensions of others claiming the Messiahship. Many of 
the Jews and other people of to-day have come to the conclusion 
that it was only a whim and a foolish idea to have looked for a saviour 
of the kind which their ancestors expected, and that they have 
no need of one, and are worshippers of the only true God, their 
Creator. 

Mankind now have a better conception of God and His attributes 
than any of their ancestors ever dreamed of, so they are not looking 
for a saviour to come to rectify a mistake which it was thought an 
infinite God had made, by which He was unable to save them in the 
next world without violating His laws of nature. The doctrine that 
is preached and taught by most of the Christian priests and ministers 
is a delusion, a fraud, and an imposition upon the public, a scheme 
for making money and an easy living without work. Why not wor- 



FUTURE RELIGION OF THE WORLD 107 

ship the real God instead of any of the religious teachers who pre- 
tended to reveal Him to all mankind. An impartial God would 
never have furnished a Messiah to a small nation which was mostly 
Jews and slighted all the rest of the nations and kingdoms of the 
world, because that is not godly. Who knows that He ever did? 
The writer does not believe that God did so. God is the power that 
makes for righteousness. A dead Messiah can do us no good or 
harm in this world. Our help while here on earth must come from 
the living and not from the dead. 

It was only a few people out of a small nation, and most of them 
were very ignorant and unlettered, who selected Jesus as their Sa- 
viour. There were several others before his time who claimed the 
title. God had nothing to do with it. If He had He would have 
informed all of the kingdoms of the world or provided a Messiah 
for them, as any one who is impartial would nowaday; and He would 
not have let the people die for thousands of years before He let them 
know about this glorious news. It was not God, but man, who wrote: 
^'Believe in the Lord Jesus Christ and be saved; beheve not and be 
damned." A few hundred years later the Christian Church said: 
^^ Believe in him and be saved or we will murder you," and it did. 
The Christians burned God's children at the stake because they 
would not accept the Christian religion. The writer is thankful 
he was not there because if he had been he would have been roasted 
and the world would never have received this glorious message. 

FIFTEEN MESSIAHS 

God has created man with a free will, strong and sufficient enough, 
if properly cultivated, to enable him with God's help to overcome 
immoral temptations and evil, to rise to a righteous degree of per- 
fection, and to have everlasting life without the assistance of Christ 
or any of the other messiahs recorded in history, who each claimed 
to be the saviour of the world. Fifteen of these Christs did not 
appoint any apostle or have any Roman Catholic Church to hand 
down to posterity their teachings, so now they are in oblivion and 
among those who are no more; but they were allowed to live out 
their natural life, for at that time there were no laws to put men to 



io8 THE BOOK OF TRUTH 

death who claimed to be the expected Christ who was to save man- 
kind in this world, if not in the next. 

THE TRINITY 

No Son of God was ever begotten by a Holy Ghost, born of a vir- 
gin, and made one of the godhead to be called God — the third person 
of the Trinity — so that if the first two could not agree they could 
call in the third person of the godhead and have a majority rule. 
When men in Biblical times would write things like this to make a 
success of their gospel, what would they not do if necessity should 
require it? Who knows if Christ ever pretended to be anything but 
a teacher of justice, righteousness, and godliness, born according 
to God's holy law of nature, as were all mankind? We only have 
the word of these writers, and we know many are unworthy of 
belief. 

When historians contradict the laws of nature and have not a single 
witness to confirm their writings outside of their own little society 
we should beware of them, and use the reason God has given us in 
estimating the value of their writings. A ghost is the spirit of a 
dead bod3^ Scientists tell us there is no life or germ of life in a dead 
body, and that the spirit of a dead person is unproductive, for there 
is no seed to produce life. God is not a man that He should lie, 
neither the son of a man that He should repent. We may be able 
to make children believe that the spirit of a dead man brought chil- 
dren into the world or that the dead spirit of a rooster brought chickens 
into the world, but you cannot make the old hens or roosters believe 
it, for they know God's laws of nature which affect them — just as 
well as we do. The hens never rely on God to save their chickens 
when there is a hawk around; they do it themselves, as the geese do 
when a sly fox tries to get one of their goslings. If you are one of 
those who believe that everything in the Bible is the Word of God, 
do not call the goose silly, for she may think that you are of weak 
mind and one of her family. 

According to the Trinity makers, the real God since the death of 
Christ has been in the minority, two to one, in the minds of the 
Christians. How can the things which are not true be the Word of 



FUTURE RELIGION OF THE WORLD 109 

God? As the sun, moon, and stars are greater than the worms of 
the earth, so is God greater than Buddha, Mohammed, or Christ. It 
is far better to worship the God who is too large to be seen than the 
men who are too small to be seen. Love the men who were religious 
teachers, but worship God. The heathen in the Dark Ages used to 
have what they called ghost worship, and it has been revived by the 
Christians in the form of the Holy Ghost — one of the Trinity. For 
thousands of years before the days of Christ the people got along 
nicely without the Trinity, and many of us now do not feel any 
need of a Trinity. Writers of the Old Testament never heard of 
a Trinity of three persons in the godhead, and it never existed ex- 
cept in the minds of Christians. Spirits of dead men will never 
take the place of our Creator or reduce Him to a minority. 

While a church is corrupt it cannot be righteous or godly; yet it is 
like a bad man, some good may come from it. If its creed is absurd 
and untrue the church should be progressive enough to correct it, 
abandon what is bad and hold fast to that which is good. Witches, sor- 
cerers, and ghosts are three of a kind, and you may as well try to make 
a cat holy and call it one of the godhead. If a spirit is not godly when 
it leaves the body it never will be. This may be a sad fact, but it is 
true. Gods are not begotten by the spirits of dead men and born of 
old maids or young virgins ; nor are they created babies without being 
born in the natural way and brought up on the milk of women or cows. 
Three-in-one might do for a shoe polish or an Irish stew, but not for a 
God. Christ or the Holy Ghost is no part of God any more than we 
are. All the sense there is in three persons being one God is nonsense. 
God must have been incomplete in Old Testament days and He never 
found it out until the Scripture makers informed Him. God was 
before there were spirits of dead men such as the Holy Ghost or Jesus 
Christ. God had no partners and is the same now as He was before the 
creation of the world. If we should make an image or picture of God, 
including the Trinity, we would have to take a centipede or a crab for 
a pattern. The Scripture makers must have done some juggling when 
they made Christ the second person of the Trinity; God who was be- 
fore the world was the first person, and the Holy Ghost, the father of 
Christ, the third. If this be true, Christ was born before his father. 



no THE BOOK OF TRUTH 

It looks as if the Trinity was made by human beings who were frauds 
and pretenders. 

The heavens, the earth, and the planets were created before man- 
kind; Jesus Christ and the Holy Ghost in eternity are spirits of dead 
men, so they cannot be gods of creation, for God was before they 
were. These dummies of the godhead are like those of the ventrilo- 
quist. It is the real man who does all the talking and singing. God 
got along alone for millions of years and up to the time the Christians 
made their gospel. Why should we need a Trinity? The priests need 
one because they claim that they got their authority from the dummies 
to forgive sin, and to keep spirits in purgatory for their purification 
and what there is in it for the Church at the expense of the mourners. 
Legends that children were begotten by the Holy Ghost are about as old 
as the rocks. At least several hundred years before the birth of Jesus, 
in cases where these children could not reasonably be accounted for 
morally in any other way, the blame was put upon the Holy Ghost, 
We know that nature never lies, and we should open our eyes. 

The laws of nature are immutable, the intelligence is not in the law, 
but in the God who made it, and who would be the last to violate it. 
There has never been any evidence which indicated that God ever 
violated His laws of nature. The only real trinity we can find in the 
Bible is sorcery, witchcraft, and miracles, and they are all explained in 
the word "myth." Godly churches should baptize infants in the 
name of God, our Creator and Redeemer, and not in the name of a 
monstrosity. If the Trinity is a perfect God, what must God have 
been before the days of Christ and the Holy Ghost? Was He that 
spirit which was used to scare the devil out of children and make them 
good? We should make our children good by love. If we try to do so 
by fear, as do the heathens, we shall only succeed in making brutes of 
them. 

VIRGIN MARY 

How could the Blessed Virgin be the mother of God, who was before 
the world was and was her Creator? Let us call mystery by its true 
name, myth, and not destroy reason and truth. Good men are often 
born of bad women, but gods are never born of women. 

A virtuous virgin should not be slandered for the purpose of putting 



FUTURE RELIGION OF THE WORLD iii 

a new religion on the market. The religion of God, the Rock of Ages, 
is good enough for us. The Virgin Mary is no better than other 
virgins who give birth to a child a few months after marriage. Jesus 
is no better or worse for being born of a virgin, if we call married 
women virgins. Gods do not cohabitate with virgins, neither do 
spirits have sexual intercourse with women. Jesus was born of a 
woman, according to the unchangeable laws of nature, just as all chil- 
dren are. Our belief will not make the false true if our belief is false. 
If our belief is true we may be able to correct the errors of others. Let 
us search for the truth, so we can use it in a righteous cause. 

The Bible says, ^Hhe Virgin Mary never laid with man before she 
married Joseph.'' We cannot vouch for that. We think there has 
been too much lying about Mary. Mary was the virgin mother of 
Jesus only in the same manner that Maya gave birth to Buddha in the 
minds of men who swallow everything the priests tell them. 

Joseph is the real father of Jesus. The Virgin Mary was a good 
woman and a godly mother. To teach or preach anything else is an 
insult to her memory. It does not make any difference to us what the 
writers of the Bible say; it does not change our opinion. If the Bible 
is true, Jesus is an illegitimate child. None of us would want any 
Holy Ghost visiting our daughters if the birth of Christ, as set forth in 
the Bible, is true. No one believed it in the days of Jesus, for it was 
not written at that time. Jesus never heard of it. Let us believe 
in the virtue of the Virgin Mary. 

It may be far better for mankind that God used the Virgin Mary to 
bring Jesus into the world rather than to have used Joseph, who had 
murder in his heart, to bring another Joseph into the world. 

The Scripture makers after the death of Christ had nothing more to 
say about Mary and Joseph. They never gave any record of their 
deaths. According to the Scriptures, Christ, Mary, and Joseph must 
be still alive somewhere in this world, because they tell us Christ came 
to life again and was seen by many of his followers, but his father and 
mother have not been seen since. If the Bible is true we should be 
able to find them alive and well. 

Even the orthodox Christians, however, have not faith enough to 
look for these lost sheep. 



112 THE BOOK OF TRUTH 



RESURRECTION OF THE BODY 



We know by the history of the world ever since the creation of 
mankind that there is no resurrection of the body of any Hving thing, 
nor has there ever been. This truth is estabHshed by trilHons who 
have died. No Hfe ever entered a decayed, dead body of man, or of 
any dead animal, bird, fish, or reptile, except worms. This is con- 
clusive evidence to any one who has ordinary intelligence. 

We should not take fiction for reality, even if we find it in the 
Bible. Men who teach a false hope knowingly to the dying are not 
fit to live in a godly community. God's laws of nature never change. 
When we know His laws we know Him, and then we are not to be 
misled by the teaching and preaching of professional theologians 
who make an easy living at the expense of others out of their so- 
called Christian profession. None of us are foolish enough to open 
the graves of our dear ones to see if their bodies are still there or 
whether they have gone to heaven, taking their bodies along with 
them. If we open the grave and find the body gone we know with- 
out reading the Bible that some one has stolen it, and we make a 
search for it and offer a reward for its recovery. If we do not find 
it, we are not foolish enough to think it is risen and to expect that 
our departed friend is in hell shoveling coal or in heaven singing 
^^ Glory to God in the highest.'' The bodies of dead beasts, fish, 
birds, reptiles, or men have never been restored to life when they 
were really dead and their bodies decayed, because it is contrary to 
God's laws. 

The history of the world confirms these truths. Writers of fiction. 
Scripture makers, or other liars cannot change these facts. All 
they can do is to deceive ignorant, weak-minded people and make 
martyrs of them so as to palm off this religion upon others and have 
them take it for the real thing. 

When the body of man is absolutely dead there is no life or germ 
of life in the brain, head, or any part of the body, and it is utterly 
impossible for such a body to ever come to life again. This fact is 
attested by eminent surgeons, chemists, and scientists as a result 
of their investigations. When the spirit leaves a live body that man 



FUTURE RELIGION OF THE WORLD 113 

is dead, but the soul still lives, if God gives it eternal life, in the 
spiritual world, among spirits that never die. If Christ's friends 
had not taken his body out of the bowels of the earth when they 
did but had waited three days and three nights, so that the Scriptures 
might have been fulfilled, they would have been too late to do the 
job, for the tomb where the body was placed was soon to be guarded 
by Roman soldiers. This is supposed to be the reason they only 
left him in the grave one day and two nights. 

Oh, glorious Easter! To lead God's children astray, on this day 
Christians celebrate an event which never occurred. 

The Jewish people who lived in the vicinity where the resurrection 
of Jesus is said to have occurred knew nothing about it. The his- 
torians make no mention of it. Their silence indicates that no such 
thing ever occurred. If it had it would have been handed down by 
word of mouth from generation to generation by the people who 
were not among the followers of Jesus. There is no resurrection 
of the spirit, nor can there be, for it never dies or enters the grave, 
but goes direct to the God who gave it. Neither does the spirit 
stop off in purgatory to make the priest a short visit on its way to 
its heavenly home. All have through tickets and are not allowed 
a stop-over at bad places. 

The body of Jesus was laid in the tomb. It disappeared and 
never was found. He never went to heaven in the body, for it is 
an impossibility. The Scriptures tell us that flesh and blood cannot 
inherit the Kingdom of God. The nearest inhabited planet to this 
world is millions of miles away. If Jesus' disciples took his body 
out of the tomb and hid it, the resurrection of Jesus and the Christian 
religion is a fraud and an imposition. The disciples never had any 
idea of anything but a resurrection of the physical body. A spiritual 
resurrection of Christ was never dreamed of by those ignorant fisher- 
men who were willing to sacrifice their lives for their idol. 

The early Christian Church had no conception of a spiritual res- 
urrection. It believed what the Scripture makers said, that Christ 
arose in the body and walked around the tomb, talked with the 
women at the grave and his disciples, saying, ^^ Behold my hands 
and my feet. It is I, be not afraid.'' Then he showed them his 



114 THE BOOK OF TRUTH 

hands, and said to Thomas, ^^ Reach hither thy hand, thrust it into 
my side." His disciples gave him a fish dinner, which he ate before 
them and talked about old times when they were a-fishing. While 
Christ was blessing his disciples he was carried up to heaven, which 
is millions of miles away. They never missed him until he was gone. 
This fish story was believed by his followers for over twelve hundred 
years and many believe it now, but those who are wise use their 
reason and consider it a legend or what some call an imposition on 
the intelligence of mankind. 

Priests and ministers for about nineteen hundred years have been 
trying to preach the body of Jesus out of the grave. As yet they 
have made no progress, and never will. When some of Jesus' fol- 
lowers who were asleep or delirious in their vision saw and talked 
with him he showed them the wound in his side and the place where 
the crown of thorns scratched his head. Now they see him, and now 
they do not. They know not from whence he came or where he 
goeth. They found the grave empty; but, alas, where is his body? 
It was not to be seen. The resurrection of Christ was nothing but 
a dream. 

The early Christians used to preach that the dead body of man 
would be raised from the dead and be alive again. When they were 
asked how it was to be done, they used to tell their followers some- 
thing like this: That the wild beasts of the forest, hogs, dogs, fish, 
worms, and other insects, crows and gulls, which have fed upon the 
dead body, will restore the parts which they have taken — except 
those parts which have returned to mother earth, which will be easily 
found when God gives the command for them, to come forth. God 
will give the body the breath of life, and it will be made whole, in 
the same condition it was when it left this world, except that it will 
be free from all disease and sin. Then it will have everlasting life 
with God, its Heavenly Father. I regret that the only ones living 
who will vouch for this story are the orthodox Christians, so we 
should only take it for what it is worth. 

Verily I say unto you, there is no resurrection of the body. Christ 
arose from the dead as have our ancestors for the last five thousand 
years — not at all. His body still lies mouldering in the grave. 



FUTURE RELIGION OF THE WORLD 115 

Neither is there any resurrection of the spirit, because it never dies. 
It returns to the God who gave it. According to the New Testament 
Christ came forth out of the tomb and took a suit of the gardener^s 
clothes. Mary saw him and took him to be the gardener. There 
is no record that Jesus ever returned the clothes or that the gardener 
ever missed them. It is preposterous to think Christ ascended to 
heaven alive when we realize that the nearest inhabited planet is 
over a million miles from this earth. 

In the days of Christ men wrote fiction, history, and poems, and told 
fish stories, just as they do now. In fact some of Christ 's apostles were 
fishermen. There has been no person in the history of the world who 
was ever dead and buried three days and then came to life and lived 
among men. Such writings now as well as in Christ's time are con- 
sidered fiction. Christ was made a man and he remained a man as 
long as he lived. His life after the death of the body is spiritual, as 
ours will be. The birth and resurrection of Christ, as recorded in the 
Scriptures, are unreasonable, and God tells us by the intelligence and 
reason he has given us that such things are not true. ^' The Sadducees 
say there is no resurrection. " Is this the Word of God? It looks like 
it, for the spirit never dies and the body returns to mother earth. St. 
Paul believed in the resurrection; but if the seed we plant has no germ 
of life it dies and that is the last of it; if it has a germ of life it will 
spring up and grow. We never heard of a man or woman who after 
being buried in the cemetery brought forth an increase. Departed 
spirits do not produce physical beings. They are with the spirits who 
have gone before and will return no more. 

EASTER 

On the day the Church calls Easter Sunday they celebrate an event 
which never happened. The early Christians actually believed that 
Christ came forth out of the grave alive on the third day after his 
death, and was in the body and talked with his friends, as we do, 
then went to heaven alive (in the body). They taught that 
heaven was only a short distance above the clouds. They expected 
some day to make the journey and see Christ and their dear, de- 
parted friends. Even unto this day they teach their children to 



ii6 THE BOOK OF TRUTH 

repeat in the churches: '^we believe in the resurrection of the body," 
but the truth is they do not beUeve it. To preach such nonsense is an 
injustice to the children and a sin against God and humanity. No 
dead body since the creation of the world ever came to life again. 
God's laws of nature will not allow it. No dead man can violate the 
laws of nature. It is only live men who can do that and then have to 
suffer the consequences. The priests and ministers, after waiting 
nineteen hundred years, have come to the conclusion there is no res- 
urrection of the body, and, to make the Bible appear to be true, are 
preaching the resurrection of the spirit — which is another mistake, 
for the spirit never dies, so there is no need of a resurrection. Most 
of the preachers are still in the wilderness in regard to the dogmas of 
the churches, like the Presbyterian who prayed to God, saying: ^^O 
God, how can I preach the truth and be a Presbyterian? If I preach 
what I believe they will call me a heretic and expel me from the min- 
istry and my family may suffer. '' 

Easter celebrations are hundreds of years older than Christianity, 
but they are not in celebration of the resurrection of Christ. Paul 
believed that it was the real body of Jesus that came forth from the 
tomb alive and ready to start on his journey to heaven; but there has 
never been anything to indicate his safe arrival. His body still lies 
mouldering in the grave. Easter Sunday is a myth. We should thank 
God that our spirit does not have to die to reach our heavenly home. 
If Christianity depends upon the birth, resurrection, and ascension of 
Jesus as recorded in the Scriptures it is a false hope, and Easter ser- 
vices as given in the orthodox Christian churches are not godliness, 
but a sin against God, misleading His children, and should be abolished 
by godly people. A false hope in man is no hope; a true hope of 
eternal life must be in God, a higher Being than man, the Creator of the 
heavens and of the earth, and the only Being who is able to give us 
eternal life. It was not God who caused the death of Jesus or took 
his body out of the sepulchre, but men, who then declared that he is 
risen. We are not looking in the tomb to see if the body of our dead 
is risen. The object in some cases of a beautiful Easter service is to 
induce God 's children to believe something which is not true. Preach- 
ing the resurrection of the body is a worthless Christian boom. Eternal 



FUTURE RELIGION OF THE WORLD 117 

life of the spirit does not depend upon Buddha, Jesus, or any of the 
rehgion teachers^, but a higher power than man, who was never in the 
flesh. 

THE ATONEMENT 

Christ 's atonement and intercession for us in case of our transgres- 
sion is about as ridiculous as it was for the priests, in the days of Luther, 
to sell indulgence for sins which their subjects might commit in the 
future. A just God would never require an atonement from us for sins 
committed by our ancestors. Men cannot sin before they are born, 
and they need no atonement for the sins of Adam; but we need from 
our youth to be taught righteousness and to love all things that are 
lovable and to detest and shun meanness, untruth, and wickedness. 
It is a great mistake to think that if some one had not have killed 
Christ all mankind would have perished. God is able and willing to 
save His children. Neither justification nor condemnation came into 
the world by Jesus Christ. He was a good teacher who was generally 
misunderstood; he is one who has made the world better. The God- 
head never died and never will, but will live for all eternity. 

When the priests wanted blood to atone for the sins of the people 
why did they not kill rats and cats instead of God's children's pet 
lambs? The facts are that they were not Chinamen and were not fond 
of rats and cats; but they were very fond of nice broiled lamb chops 
for dinner to satisfy the craving of the stomach. The devil is the god 
of blood, and our Creator is the God of Love. The plan of the atone- 
ment is not righteousness. Is it right to hang a good man for the 
crimes of a bad man? If the good man takes the place of the bad man 
in this world is it to be expected that he will do the same in the next? 
Do you think if we should take a bad man out of prison and put a 
good man in his place it would make the bad man any better? God 
is not a conjuror or a trickster, yet it is easy to see that the devil may 
be. An atonement for the sins of the world is absurd. It is a sin to 
punish knowingly a just man for the sins of others, and God never 
did it. 

HOLY GHOSTS 

Ghosts and Holy Ghosts all belong to the same family, and are of 
the same species as all spooks and scarecrows, which exist only in the 



ii8 THE BOOK OF TRUTH 

minds of men and are used as material in making gods for the Chris- 
tians. The formula is one third ghost, one third Holy Ghost, 
one third real God, made into pills which are to be swallowed when- 
ever administered by the preacher or priests, which is generally on 
blue Sunday. 

The old ghost who used to scare the devil out of children through 
fear is only a character like Rip Van Winkle, and is the same old 
fellow the Christians called the Holy Ghost and one of the godhead. 
^^ Whosoever sinneth against the Holy Ghost it shall not be forgiven 
him, neither in this world nor in the world to come '' (St. Matthew 
12:32). 

We are wilhng to take our chances and do our duty to God and 
our brother man. We are not scared by theologians and Trinity 
makers, but will tell the truth even if the devil has us by the throat. 
We put our trust in the God who is the only Redeemer and Creator. 
None but ignorant men or Scripture makers would write such an 
absurdity to induce men, through fear, to swallow such an ungodly 
religious teaching. 

The Holy Ghost was one of the manifestations of Buddha five 
hundred years before the days of Jesus. He never made us good by 
love, but by fear, which is ungodliness such as driving the bad spirits 
of men into pigs so they will go down to the river and drown them- 
selves. Can we blame the Jews for not eating swine, the Christians' 
favorite meat? 

A ghost is the supposed appearance of a deceased person. Some 
people think they see ghosts when they are asleep and while their 
eyes are closed. If the apparition is matter it is a live person trying 
to scare some one. When it appears as a spirit it can only exist in 
the mind of a delirious or drunken person. It generally haunts 
cowards or those of poor health or who believe in the supernatural. 
When God created the world there were no spirits of dead men. Holy 
Ghosts, Jesus Christs, or theologians to make Trinities. 

It is very doubtful if the most true interpreter of the Biblical 
Scripture is the Holy Ghost, the spirit of a dead man. The spirit 
of a live man in a live body is more reliable. That is, if such a man 
is a scholar and has communion with God, 



FUTURE RELIGION OF THE WORLD 119 

With due respect to my Christian friends who differ with me, my 
advice to them is to investigate all heavenly securities which are 
offered to them by different religious societies before they invest 
their all and only hope of eternal life. 

Beware, for it is a serious question, and when you are in your 
grave it will be too late. Those who buy indulgences and absolution 
think that they are getting something for their money, but they are 
not. The Holy Ghost must be a rather weak spirit and need pro- 
tection or the Scripture makers would not threaten those with dam- 
nation who do not swallow the doctrine in regard to the Holy Ghost. 

GOODNESS 

We should be as good as we can be and do as much good as we 
can by doing the best that we can. Love the lovable and do no 
harm to the unlovable, but keep away from them, so they will not 
make you and your family miserable. Remember that prayer will 
not feed the hungry or clothe the naked, for it costs nothing. We 
should make right our wrongs with those we have wronged as far as 
possible. Work and earn your daily bread and do not ask God for 
it. Avoid sin and do not blame God for your wickedness. Be 
careful and do not insult our loving, righteous Heavenly Father by 
praying, ^^Lead us not into temptation," which He never does; but 
thank Him for the bountiful blessings you have received, and trust 
that you may be worthy of them while in the body, and produce a 
spirit worthy of eternal life with Him and our loved ones who have 
gone before. 

Those who use goodness as a means of robbing and deceiving others 
should be classed with the ungodly, even if they wear the garb of a 
priest. There is no righteousness in the garb unless there is a godly 
man in it. Evils can be restrained and subdued by love without the 
fear of punishment. Teach your children righteousness, mercy, and 
love. If you are what you teach them, your children will be good 
and be a '^chip of the old block.'' 

Conscientiousness, reason, goodness, love, or hatred can be de- 
veloped in many of the lower animals, not by prayer or teaching 
them the dogmas of the Christian Church, but by being good and 



I20 THE BOOK OF TRUTH 

kind, and by taking care of them. Animals will love us if we love 
them. If you have no dog, horse, or cow to try love on, you should 
try it on your wife, and let her know by your actions that you love 
her, and you will reap the harvest, unless she is a devil. 

It is no sin to convey our thoughts to others when we think these 
thoughts are righteous, as this will give them an opportunity to set 
us aright if we have gone astray. We should love those who differ 
with us in regard to religion or condemn us for our evil deeds, for 
by so doing we may be led in the right way to joy, love, prosperity, and 
happiness. 

ORTHODOXY 

There are things that the sober-faced, pious frauds call sin, but 
which many of God's good children call exercise, recreation, joy, 
pleasure, rest, and happiness, that make the world better, the bodies 
of men stronger, and their spirit natural, true to nature, and more 
godlike. Again, there are other things the former call true religion, 
such as forcing the dogmas of the Church down the throats of others 
without their consent, allowing sick children and persons in the prime 
of life to die without medical treatment which might have saved 
their lives, selling indulgences, pretending to pardon sinners, and 
praying the dead out of purgatory for money. Sometimes these 
pious frauds refuse fellowship with those who have just taken a 
bath because they have not been immersed by a Christian minister, 
and they will not associate with the godly Jews who do not believe 
that Jesus, who was born a baby of a woman, is God our Creator. 
Let us be charitable and just, but hold fast to the truth and all the 
rights we are entitled to, for the difference of opinion is caused by 
preaching, teaching, and environment. While we have a conscience 
we cannot become members of a dogmatical church and affirm before 
God and man that we believe in things that are not true, as church 
members do. We should assemble together, not to teach ^'isms," but 
godliness, justice, righteousness, charity, love for mankind, and all 
things lovable, so as to make the people of this world better, more 
happy, and more Godlike. God will care for the spirit after the 
death of the body, for we can do nothing for the departed spirit 
after it has left this world. Let us hope that our dear beloved ones 



FUTURE RELIGION OF THE WORLD 121 

can do something for us who are left behind, and that they will 
meet us in the kingdom not made by hands but eternal in the 
heavens. 

Many of the orthodox Christian ministers and priests claim that 
all goodness, justice, righteousness, love, mercy, benevolence, and even 
godliness come from Christianity, and that Christ is God. Doubt- 
less if there is anything else in the world worth claiming many of them 
have impertinence enough to claim it for Christianity. All of these 
good things came from God our Creator thousands of years before 
Christ was born. Pious frauds are able to mislead and rob man- 
kind, but they cannot deceive and despoil God. Our only hope of 
life beyond the grave is in the God who made us and not in any of 
the religious teachers who were not able to save themselves in this 
world and died like all the rest of human beings. They will have 
to thank God if they ever have life eternal in God's kingdom. 

The old orthodox Christian religion has had its day. The time is 
coming when thinkers will not believe that the legendary matter in 
the Bible is the truth or Word of God. A religion based upon myth 
— the supernatural creation of a man to save mankind lost because 
of disobedience to God — will be among the things which were but 
are no more. 

REDEMPTION 

The doctrine of redemption as taught by Christians is not moral 
justice. As it is preached it appears like a scheme to get money for 
indulgences and pardons and seems to have been instituted by men for 
that purpose. God or a just judge will not knowingly punish an in- 
nocent man for a crime he knows some one else committed. God 
will never allow the priest or the devil to furnish a substitute to suffer 
for the crimes of the wicked. The priest knows it as well as we do. 
He takes the money because he needs it and performs the usual services 
to console the ungodly. All those whose goodness is greater than 
their badness need no redemption. Their Heavenly Father does not 
require it. That is only a dogma preached by ministers. The good 
bank of issue also redeems all genuine bills. The prayers of the 
priest cannot make the counterfeit bills genuine, neither can they 
make a bad soul good. 



122 THE BOOK OF TRUTH 

THANKSGIVING 

No one but God could create the heavens and the earth and the 
fulness thereof and make all the provisions that have been made for 
the human and animal kingdom, and which they enjoy. Let us make 
no mistake by thanking a man born of a woman for the blessings we 
have had during the past year. To the God of Creation, who made us, 
and is able to give us life eternal in His kingdom, we give all the praise 
and glory for ever and ever. Once a year is as often as our nation is 
asked to publicly thank God for His blessings; and He never even asks 
us to do that, but is like our good earthly father who takes it for 
granted. 

We should not spend most of our time in reading the Bible and pray- 
ing for our daily bread so we may shirk work. God expects us to 
work for our maintenance if we are able to do so. That is the way He 
has arranged things for most of us in this world. 

Let us be wise and accept God's way and we will enjoy better 
health and be happier in this world. 

RELIGIOUS TEACHERS 

Confucius, Mohammed, Buddha, and Jesus are all in about the same 
class of religious teachers. They all preached righteousness, love, 
mercy, and the doctrine of Fatherhood of God. But none of them is 
a God; none created the universe. They are men and God talked 
through them when they told the truth — as He does now through us. 

Buddha says, ^^ There is no saviour in the world except truth. " If 
that is so, then he and Jesus are not saviours and the Scripture makers 
are liars. 

MINISTERS 

Ministers, teachers, and others who instruct their hearers in wisdom, 
justice, righteousness, and their duty to mankind are worthy of their 
hire and earn an honest living. All receiving their instructions and 
blessings should see that they and their families are well provided for 
in this world, for the God who made us expects us to care for them, and 
He will care for us in the next world for so doing. 

Be wise and look for heavenly riches, which will last for all eternity. 



FUTURE RELIGION OF THE WORLD 123 

Some of the ministers preach that we are all sinners so they can get a 
job to make us good; but the doctors are too honest for that. If we 
are not sick they wiU tell us so, unless they need the money as badly as 
do the ministers. 

MINISTERS ' ASSOCIATIONS 

Most of the ministers belong to a sectarian society which is prac- 
tically a trades union to protect their occupation and shut off inter- 
course with God when it is a detriment to their organization. Such 
societies keep their members in subjection so that they will have to 
swallow all the dogmas of the Church or suffer the penalty, which is 
expulsion. This may be business for the ungodly, but it is not religious 
liberty or righteousness, and such a society is unworthy of the support 
of the community. 

TEMPTATIONS 

Ministers have the same troubles, trials, afflictions, propensities, and 
temptations that others have. This is natural, for that is the way 
they were created. Poison will kill them or rum will make them drimk 
just as quickly as it will others. 

If they are unmarried and are too intimate with thy wife or daugh- 
ters who are matured, be on thy guard. Do not be deceived by their 
blind prayers. 

God is impartial. When ministers are born they are no better 
than others, but the right kind of teaching should make better men of 
them than those who do not have it and are companions of the vile, 
wicked, and those who know no God. 

LENT 

When we want to know what we should eat during any season of the 
year we should ask our doctor and not take orders from a priest who 
knows nothing about what is good or not good for us. There is no 
godliness in not eating that which is good for us to eat. The following 
are about the usual orders of the priests during lent: Crackers, herring 
and fresh meat permitted on Sundays at dinner (on Holy Saturday 
two shrimps are to take the place of the fresh meat), two chicken eggs 
may be used at the principal meal, and frogs or grasshopper legs in the 
evening; a small piece of bread, but no cheese, with a cup of coffee, tea, 



124 THE BOOK OF TRUTH 

or very weak chocolate may be taken in the morning when the principal 
meal cannot be taken at noon. 

Lard may be used in preparing the food, but no bulls' hearts or 
brains are to be allowed at any time, as they who eat them are apt to 
be made uncontrollable. 

On Sunday there is neither fast nor abstinence. This will be your 
chance. If you feel like having a little rum, now is the time to be a 
bum. Those who are granted special dispensations are expected by 
voluntary acts of mortification and penance to be very charitable 
and contribute liberally to the Church, for it is in need of the money 
and we are the receivers. Why should we take our orders from Rome 
unless we are weak-minded? Be a man. Do not be driven like a 
mule at the crack of a whip. 

MEETING-HOUSES 

A meeting-house is no more sacred than other houses. If there 
is anything there that is sacred it is the people who meet there to 
worship — who compose the church. The sacredness of the build- 
ing exists only in the minds of those who worship there. Christ 
had no costly robes or confessional boxes where he worshipped and 
took women in and talked to them in secret. He was not that kind 
of a man. Whatever he did was in the open and in the presence of 
his followers. Things have changed since. The priests are not 
allowed to marry. They grant indulgences at will, but want them 
kept still. The churches will be full of robbers, murderers, and 
sinners as long as the priests preach the ungodly doctrine that they 
have the power to forgive sin and grant indulgences, and as long as 
the people believe it and act accordingly. 

RELIGIOUS TEACHERS 

There is no respect of persons with God. He does not require us 
to be a .Christian in order to have eternal life. All He requires of 
us to live a righteous, godly life. Buddha, Mohammed, Confucius, 
or Christ have no monopoly of God's kingdom. None of them were 
anything but religious teachers and men born of women in the same 
way we were, according to His holy laws of nature. Liars cannot 



FUTURE RELIGION OF THE WORLD 125 

change the facts, but they may be able to fool weak-minded persons 
or those who were taught such nonsense when they were children 
and never have investigated this subject for themselves. 

Christ was not able to save himself or any of his followers or abolish 
death. Life insurance is at the same rate to others as it is to Christians 
and according to their occupation, age, and health. 

RELIGIOUS LIBERTY 

Priests and ministers are just as much entitled to their opinions 
as we are, and we should like to see the time when they will be al- 
lowed to preach what they believe without being persecuted by those 
who are powerful and influential in the Church. Under the present 
conditions preachers cannot expect a revelation from God which is 
different from the dogmas of their Church, for God cannot trust them, 
except in a few cases, to deliver such a message to His people. With 
many of the ministers it is not ^^Thy will be done,'' but the will of 
the Pope or Bishop. Otherwise these ministers might have to quit 
preaching and their families suffer. A religion which does not give 
men religious liberty and the fruits of their labor and allow them to 
teach the truth is a curse to the world and it lacks godliness. God is 
willing that we have intellectual emancipation and religious liberty, 
even if we have to fight and die for it, so that our victory will be a 
blessing to future generations. 

There is no religious liberty in any country where heresy and 
unbelief are crimes and the offenders are punished as criminals. God 
never made it a crime for His children to use their reason. When 
men consider it criminal, they are wicked and ungodly. Christian 
intolerance and impudence is not righteousness, but devilishness, 
and was a curse in many places from the Dark Ages. In many places 
God's children are not allowed the pleasure He intended they should 
enjoy. 

When a political party is in power and does not repeal laws that 
make it a crime for a baker to sell bread on Sunday to hungry people 
who have the money to pay for it, or that prohibit the sale of a hat 
to a man who has lost his on the Sabbath day, or laws which take 
away from men the means to protect their homes against robbers, 



126 THE BOOK OF TRUTH 

it is time such parties were abolished by a popular vote so that the 
people can enjoy personal liberty and righteousness. 

MY RELIGION 

My Christianity may be deficient in some respects or narrow and 
bigoted like many others, but my religion is broad and wide enough 
to take in all the nations of the world whose people believe in the 
God of Creation and are doing their best to be righteous and godlike. 
Let us unite in one common cause and accept only the good teachings 
of the man Jesus as the most sublime that the world ever knew; ac- 
knowledge him to be a hero, a friend of publicans and sinners, a pro- 
tector of widows and orphans, and the poor, needy, and oppressed, a 
comforter of the sick, afHicted, and they that mourn. Remember 
that Jesus is not God; and other good teachings: that the spirits of 
the just never die, but at the death of the body return to the God who 
gave them and will meet the good spirits of all the loved ones who 
have gone before. I do not pretend to be one of the best men in the 
world; neither have I the depravity to teach the things taught in 
the orthodox churches, which are untrue and misleading to all 
mankind. 

THE SPIRIT 

The soul, the immortal part of man, the spirit which lives in the 
brain of the body, should be able to leave it, with God's help, after 
the body is dead, inasmuch as it was able to enter when the body was 
alive. After waiting about nineteen hundred years for the resurrec- 
tion of the body, it is foolishness to wait any longer, for this hope is 
hopeless. It was only a dream of the Scripture makers, so look for 
the spiritual life beyond the grave, which is glorious. 

The velocity of the spirit of man is like the memory. The mind 
travels faster than the light of the sun so the will of God may be 
done. This is the only world in which we shall ever live while in the 
body, and is full of trouble, trials, and afHictions, mingled with love, 
joy, blessings, and righteousness. In the twinkling of an eye, at 
death, the spirit leaves the body and is in the spiritual world. There 
are no way stations between this world and the next. 

The soul is the mind, intelligence, and reason — that part of man 



FUTURE RELIGION OF THE WORLD 127 

which thinks. It is invisible to the eye, as God is. Yet it is there 
just the same. The soul is not flesh, blood, bone, or matter, for they 
cannot think. The spirit, which is the immortal part of man, is 
developed in man and with man. The death of the body does not 
destroy the spirit. It is the spirit which leaves the weak, feeble man, 
and the body is dead; but the spirit lives forever with the God who 
gave it life in this world and is able to give it eternal life in the next. 
The spirit lives according to the spiritual laws of nature. It cannot 
be destroyed by the wild beasts of the forest, by murderers, popes, 
priests, or preachers. Hot air has no ejBfect on the spirit. The soul 
of man is immortal. 

The spirit of man is something besides mind which Kves after the 
death of the body. Some men lose their mind and reason long before 
the death of the body; but the soul, the spirit, the real man, leaves 
the body at its death and cannot live in a dead body. 

The spirit or soul of man is not matter, for matter cannot love, 
think, or worship God. A live body develops the spirit the same as 
the rich soil of the earth develops wheat, fruit, and vegetables, but 
in a spiritual manner for all eternity. None but God and spirits 
can see departed spirits. A baby cannot expect to see its mother 
before it is Lorn, neither can we expect to see heaven before we get 
there. 

The devils on earth were never powerful enough to force Almighty 
God, an infinite being, into a tight place so that He had to have His 
only son murdered to save the spirits of His children and give them 
eternal life. It often happens that one man has to take the life of 
others to save his body from death; but never to save his spirit, the 
immortal part of man. We are all sons and daughters of God, if we 
are His children; but let us not boast of it, for He may be ashamed 
of some of us. He knows what we are far better than we know what 
He is. Mind and body are one while the mind is in the body, and 
it is the same with the stomach, heart, and liver, yet they are different 
organs of the body. We know that the body sometimes lives for a 
while when the mind is gone; but what interests us most is: Will the 
mind, soul, spirit live when separated from the body? 

The spirit is developed in man by nature according to the laws of 



128 THE BOOK OF TRUTH 

nature. The spirit is the only thing that is godly in man; that can 
have eternal life; that is the same substance as God, who has the life 
eternal which cannot be destroyed by the death of the body which 
developed it, or by the wild beasts of the forest, but only by the God 
who created it, our Heavenly Father, who will save it if it is worth 
saving. 

A grain of wheat or kernel of corn has two lives. Why should not 
man, a child of God, have one life in this world and one in the next 
with the Creator? One life comes from the seed in the earth, and it 
blossoms like the rose and is born in due time. The other comes from 
the germ of its fruit, which is the same as its mother kernel of corn. 
Does not the revelation of God in nature reveal another life after 
the death of the original body? 

SABBATH 

Moses says God spake these words and said: ^^I am the Lord 
thy God, remember that thou keep holy the Sabbath day." Then 
he gives his reason: ^^For in six days the Lord made heaven and earth, 
the sea and all that in them is, and rested the seventh day. Where- 
fore the Lord blessed the seventh day, and hallowed it." 

We know that God never made all things in six days, or in the 
time the Scripture writers thought He did, and we know that He 
does not rest on the seventh day, so the presumption is that the com- 
mandments were made by Moses for his people only and for no other 
kingdom. If God had made these laws He would have made others 
commanding the people to feed the poor and needy, clothe the naked, 
love each other, care for the sick and afHicted, be just and righteous, 
and not to follow in the footsteps of Moses and kill everybody around 
about them. 

There is nothing in the Bible which authorizes the sanctification of 
Sunday or indicates in any way that it is the Sabbath. The Scriptures 
tell us that Saturday, which is the seventh day of the week, is the 
Sabbath. Scripture is not always the guide of our sectarian friends 
without some juggling. Fruit, grain, and produce grow on the Sab- 
bath as on any other day of the week. Yeast, vinegar, and wines 
work on all days alike. The Sabbath was not made for worship, but 



FUTURE RELIGION OF THE WORLD 129 

for rest, recreation, and enjoyment, to make the body more healthy. 
The Sabbath was "made for man.'' God does not need it. It is 
we who need sleep, food, drink, and rest. God has established no 
special days on which we are to rest, laugh, sing, play, pray, mourn, or 
dance; He has wisely left that to us. We must obey God's laws of 
nature or suffer the penalty we bring upon ourselves. 

We need to eat, drink, and sleep on Sunday the same as we do on 
any day of the week. The sun, moon, and stars shine, the vegetables, 
fruit, and grain grow on all days alike, regardless of the Sabbath. 
God wants us to be just as good on one day of the week as on any 
other, and He has never set apart any particular day for us to rest, 
work, or worship Him. His laws of nature require us to rest and have 
recreation about every five or ten days according to our vocation, 
but not according to the dogmas of any particular society. God keeps 
the wheels of creation going on all days of the week, and He is as 
godly as the preachers or any of His subjects even if they do wear 
church robes and make long prayers for a living. If your house is 
on fire on the Sabbath day, save it for your own and God's sake, and 
do not fail to use all the means in your power. Remember that 
prayer is no substitute for water in a case like that. 

It is no more right for the Christians to make the Jews stop work 
and close their stores on Sunday that it would be for the Jews to 
make the Christians close up their stores on Saturday, the Jews' 
Sabbath. Would your Christian friends submit to it? Who knows 
but that within a short time the Jews will have control of some of the 
states and do to the Christians as they have done to them. We need 
not be afraid of it, because they are godly people and are opposed to 
making other people live up to their dogmas in religion. It is im- 
possible for all of us to rest on Sundays. The ministers have to 
preach, the choir is expected to sing. Chickens, cows, hogs, sheep, 
and human beings have to be fed on the Sabbath, and God expects 
us to do it. We have the right to do things on Sunday which do not 
interfere with the worship or happiness of others. The old orthodox 
church still has the thumbscrews and is ready to apply them when- 
ever the lawmakers will give them authority to do so. 

The seventh day is a rest and a release from labor, and the Jews 



I30 THE BOOK OF TRUTH 

called it the ^'Sabbath/' which word denotes rest in the Hebrew 
tongue; not worship, but recreation. I'he ungodly sectarians should 
not be allowed to rob the laborer of his rest for the body, which is a 
blessing to God's creatures. We can rest better out of the church 
than we can in it. A church is not supposed to be a place in which to 
sleep or rest, but a place in which to worship. 

SIN 

Infallible men cannot sin — because they are dead. I know of 
some good men who could sin, but they won't, and they are the world's 
best friends. It is no virtue not to do the things we cannot do. What 
we call evil sometimes turns out to be good; but that does not in- 
dicate that good comes from evil. What we call sin sometimes 
brings a saviour into the world. Men who are free have the liberty 
to do right, also to do wrong. If Jesus never sinned it was not be- 
cause he could not, but because he would not. If he had sinned he 
would have asked God to forgive him, as we do. How do we know 
that God forgives our sins just for the asking? Is it because we pay 
the priest for it? We know when we violate the laws of nature that 
God does not remit the penalty. The governors of states remit the 
penalties of men convicted of crimes who were innocent or have suf- 
fered enough. The doctrine of original sin transmitted through Adam 
and removed by the death of Jesus is nonsense. Baptism will re- 
move filth if we use plenty of soap and water, but not our sins from 
within. Christ never said it was a sin not to go to church on Sunday 
or on any other day of the week. It is the ministers who say that. 
Christ had little love for public prayer, but said, ^^ When thou prayest 
go into thy chamber and having shut the door pray in secret." In- 
asmuch as our prayers will do God no good, we think it is well for 
the ministers to pray in the churches to do others good if they don't 
take too much time about it. They may make their hearers more 
righteous and godlike by so doing. A good prayer or sermon has a 
beneficent effect upon the minds of men, but those prayers which are 
foolish and untrue had better be saved for the export trade. 

^'The fathers shall not be put to death for the children, neither 
shall the children be put to death for the fathers; every man shall be 



FUTURE RELIGION OF THE WORLD 131 

put to death for his own sin" (Deuteronomy 24:16). How can we 
reconcile this statement with the doctrines in the New Testament? 
Moses was more righteous than God if the latter put Christ to death 
for the sins of others; but we know God never did. 

The destruction of life will not atone for evil deeds and ungodliness; 
nailing to the cross an innocent victim will not take away the sin of 
mankind. To cease to torture and to murder, and to be moral, just, 
and merciful is true religion and godliness, which is as far from 
original Roman Catholic Christianity as is the east from the west. 
Choose ye whom you will serve — Buddha, Jesus, or God your 
Creator — for you cannot serve two masters. If time is precious, 
leave your evil deeds undone and do those which are good, and you 
will have happiness and bliss. Sin to many appears as sweet as honey 
until they have lost all of their money. 

Those who, avoiding sin and temptation, do good works and are 
just and righteous, are better than those who conomit sin and give 
their money to the priest who pretends to pardon them. God is able 
to give eternal life without our sacraments, ceremonies, external wor- 
ship, extreme unction, or any assistance from the priest or Jesus 
Christ. Yet we should encourage the priests, preachers, and all 
others to do what they can to make mankind better, more charitable, 
and godlike; and we should care for the sick, the poor, the needy, and 
the afflicted while they are in this world and trust to God to care for 
them in the next. Babies are not conceived and born in sin; a child 
when born is sinless. This is nature's and God's way. Children 
do not have to avoid being born to be free from sin. It does not make 
any difference what the Scripture makers say. This is God's truth. 
Reason and His attributes affirm it. 

If sin is transgression of the laws of God, it must be a violation of 
His laws of nature and not of the dogmas of any particular church. 
The Catholic Christians used to burn people to death for violating 
their laws and not accepting their dogmas and teachings, but God 
never did anything of the kind. We should not blame God for 
the wicked crimes of criminals who pretend to be godly, for God is 
love and His gift of love to those who accept it is as natural as nature, 
even to the lower animals. Good laws or bad laws made by an old 



132 THE BOOK OF TRUTH 

butcher should not be taken for the laws of God, or the crimes of 
Moses called the crimes of God, who is just and righteous. 

The grace of God is given to His children without prayer. The 
sacraments are all of human origin and are required only by religious 
teachers. God is impartial. He knows whether we are good or bad 
without any religious test. The priest cannot make a rotten apple or 
a bad man good by baptism, eucharist, or extreme unction. Men are 
subject to death from the time they are born, before they have a chance 
to sin. A just God will never punish us for the sins of Adam and Eve, 
a story written by man, and a myth. If Adam had the smallpox or 
some contagious or blood disease it might have been transmitted to 
others from generation to generation, but not his spiritual badness. 
Men are born according to nature's laws; if we are born black or white, 
that is the law of nature and we should not blame God for it. The 
Catholic Church declares that the Virgin Mary was exempt from 
original sin; if so, she should not have committed it. God is not 
partial nor will He exempt any one from His laws of nature. Men or 
women can never bring a child into the world contrary to the laws of 
nature. Baptism may be the means of washing away the dirt of the 
body when a plaster will not stick to it, but it does not reach the im- 
mortal part of man. If it is a sin to worship the sun, moon, and stars, 
it is a sin to worship a son born of a virgin when we have a God to 
worship who is our Heavenly Father. 

THE TRUTH 

To become a member of a Christian Church you have to stand up 
before the congregation and Almighty God and He like the devil. 
This is what they call orthodox Christianity. For thousands of years 
the heroes who would not accept such a doctrine have been called 
heretics. Many of them have been put in dungeons, tortured, and 
burned at the stake. These things happened with the sanction of a 
government which was controlled by Christians. Even unto this day 
the orthodox Church requires of us to beHeve in the resurrection of 
the body which has been cremated and become the dust of the earth 
and is used as a fertilizer for raising beets, turnips, cabbage, and other 
vegetables, fruits, and grain. Many bodies have been buried at sea 



FUTURE RELIGION OF THE WORLD 133 

and devoured by sharks, crabs, and thousands of other fish, and many 
of these fish have been served for food to mankind. Other bodies 
have been devoured by worms, crows, vultures, and the wild beasts of 
the forest. The poor, ignorant Christians have been waiting for 
hundreds of years for their dead to come forth, dressed in white robes, 
and many have put their house in order to receive them. Some of 
these Christians have the table already set, for they think the dead 
will be hungry, since they have had nothing to eat for so long a time. 
Oh, ye men of to-day, who have taken the places of the Adamses, 
Washingtons, Jeffersons, and Lincolns of the past, stand by your 
colors ! Let the reason God has given you be your guide and teach the 
truth to all the world so that future generations will have freedom of 
mind, religious liberty, and know the truth. A lie is a lie whether it is 
in the Bible or some other book. The truth is true w^herever you find 
it. The vineyard needs pruning, the tyranny of impostors should be 
weeded out so that the spirit of toleration may have a chance to grow. 
Do not accuse your friends of treason because your religion will not 
stand reason. Most preachers do not like to face facts when they are 
opposed to the dogmas of the Church. Under such circumstances 
they are not lovers of sincerity, and sacrifice intellectual virtue, which 
is truth, rather than be called heretics. It is absurd to speak of the 
Bible in its entirety as the ^^ Word of God. '' It would be more correct 
to call it the Scripture makers ' mixture. In this world we shall find 
that reason is a far better guide than faith when we are dealing with 
frauds. Honest men should not object to our using our reason, but 
rather should expect us to use it to the best of our ability. We 
regret that in some cases we have to use the words frauds and im- 
postors in speaking of some of the orthodox preachers. We only 
do this so that they will have the experience of knowing how we 
feel when they call us infidels and heretics. We trust they will not 
be offended. 

Jesus was not the first messenger who came into the world to teach 
righteousness, love, and the truth; neither will he be the last. When 
one leader of the flock dies God will furnish another to take his place 
and preach the truth, which will never die. Jesus has gone, never to 
return; the truth will forever remain, even if much of it is now like 



134 THE BOOK OF TRUTH 

wheat scattered among the tares of error. God is able through the 
reason He has given us to cast out error and hold fast to the truth. 
It is not true that ' Vhosoever shall keep the whole law and yet offend 
in one point is guilty of all.'' It is contrary to reason and utterly 
absurd. If a man lies he is not guilty of murder and robbery and 
should not be punished for those crimes which he did not commit. 
Never since the creation of the world have men been so anxious to 
know the truth as they are now. They ascend into the heavens, 
they descend into the bowels of the earth without fear; they are 
investigating all things from the beginning to the end that they may 
be wise and teach the truth. No longer is everything in the Bible 
believed to be the Word of God or the truth, and the time will come 
when it will be taken for only what it is — good mixed with evil. 
It is a cross for us to give the world the truth when we know that we 
shall be despised by those who depend upon the orthodox Church for a 
livelihood. We willingly place our lives in jeopardy, for it would 
be a sin to withhold the truth and let the world remain in ignorance, 
superstition, and worship false gods. 

It is silly to claim to be a successor to God, for since He never sold 
out or died He has none. Those who claim to be His successors we 
think are unwise or else they have been badly educated. It is an 
honorable business to teach or preach justice, righteousness, brotherly 
love, and kindness to the sick and needy; but it is a fraudulent busi- 
ness to extort money by prayer from weak-minded people for a selfish 
object. Ministers who are poor preachers have a hard time to support 
their families. They think they must preach the dogmas of the church 
to which they belong, or their families will suffer. They have our 
sympathy, but if they cannot preach the truth where they are they 
should try to get some other position where they can preach it so as 
to make the world better and wiser. Then the people will be willing 
to pay for that which is worth the price to them. We know that God 
our only Saviour expects us to use the reason which He has given us. 

God is not revealed to us in the form of a monkey or a man, but 
by nature and His creation; also by the message we have brought 
unto you in this book. Teach and preach the truth to all mankind, 
so that the world will be better and more godlike, for God will bless 



FUTURE RELIGION OF THE WORLD 135 

those who do it. You may call the writer of this book an atheist or 
an anti-Christ, but remember he is a messenger of the truth. If you 
do not like his message, make your complaint to God. If you are a 
grafter living at the expense of others, a fraud or impostor, you will 
not like this message. The purpose of this book is to set the truth 
before the world. The truth will remain for all eternity. The truth 
is attainable only by reason and an open heart and mind willing to 
receive it. 

PRESBYTERIANISM 

Why should we send our children to church on Sunday and have 
them say before God and man: "I believe in Jesus Christ His only 
Son,'' when we know that he is not His only son but that all of us 
are sons of God? Why should we teach the resurrection of the body 
when nature and the history of the past tell us there is no resurrection 
of the body, but that it returns to mother earth from whence it came. 
This fact is confirmed by our own knowledge. If children are taught 
that which is not true in Sunday-school it is far better to have them 
educated in the pubHc schools. Christ said: ^^ Behold the son of 
man is betrayed,'' not the only son of God. The Calvinistic dogma 
that ^^God hath foreordained whatsoever cometh to pass" is one of 
the most ungodly charges against God we have ever heard, blaming 
our Heavenly Father for all of our troubles, trials, sufferings, and 
afHictions which we have brought upon ourselves by violating His 
laws of the universe. Do the bodies of the dead rest in the grave till 
the resurrection morning, which will never come? For the last six 
thousand years there has been no resurrection of the body. Some 
such claims have been made, but the evidence is about a million to 
one against their validity. The Scriptures say that God appointed 
the seventh day of the week to be the Sabbath; but after the reported 
resurrection of Christ (which really never occurred) it was changed to 
the first day of the week, called Sunday, to please the Christians, so 
they would have no trouble with the Jews. 

As a matter of fact there were no Christians when Moses established 
the seventh day of the week as the Sabbath. It was the Scripture 
makers who made the change to the first day of the week, and not 
God our Creator. 



136 THE BOOK OF TRUTH 

In this land of religious liberty the Christians are trying to force 
their sectarian Sabbath down the throats of millions of people, and 
would put them in prison if they do not swallow it. The general 
assembly of the Presbyterian Church once excommunicated forty 
thousand church members in one locality because this assembly 
thought that the majority of the ministers in those synods held wrong 
views on the origin of evil. This is what we call sectarian devil- 
ishness and ungodliness in refusing to permit those members to do 
their own thinking and use the reason which God gave them. Christ 
used to keep company with sinners; why should the Presby- 
terians be more particular than he was? Christ did not excom- 
municate that bad man, Judas, after he knew what he wa"s, 
but tried to make him better and by so doing lost his own Hfe, 
We suppose these Presbyterians wanted to correct the mistakes 
of Christ and not take any chances of losing their occupation. A 
religion of fear or persecution is devilish and brutish and should 
be abolished. 

The discipline of the old Scottish Presbyterians was as despotic 
and relentless as that of the Catholics. Free institutions and free 
thought were impossible with the members of such a society. It is 
the power outside of the Church which has made them more tolerant. 
The same spirit with the inspiration of men will make the Church 
what God intended it should be, or in due time there will be one after 
God^s own heart to take its place. 

If predestination is true, as taught by John Calvin, our Heavenly 
Father must be a brute. A just God never brings His children into 
the world to be damned without giving them a chance to be good, 
and we know by His goodness and by the provisions He has made for 
us in this world that He never did. The ignorant and slanderous 
opinions and declarations of one man should not deceive us as to the 
attributes of a loving, kind, and righteous Father. No child was 
ever born foredoomed to eternal death by Adam's sin. Children 
cannot sin before they are born. God does not hold them responsible 
for the sins of others. All children are born good. If they become 
bad later it is not God's fault, but the fault of others. Calvinism is 
an insult to God and a curse to His children. 



FUTURE RELIGION OF THE WORLD 137 

CALVINISM 

Balzac, for not believing in Calvinism and his doctrines of pre- 
destination, was put in prison and afterward banished from Geneva, 
Switzerland. No one but an ingrate or ignorant person could accuse 
God, His Heavenly Father, of bringing children into the world to be 
eternally damned without giving them a chance to be good. What 
is the use of preaching godliness to mankind if this great question is 
settled? The devil would be ashamed to bring children into the world 
to be eternally damned. God is love and the father of godliness, 
but not of Calvinism. Let us hope Calvin preached that which he 
thought was true, that his godliness was greater than his badness, and 
that God will forgive him for his errors; also that the church which 
he established will abandon all of his bad teaching and hold fast to 
that which is true and godlike. John Calvin wrote on September 
30, 1516, ^'Rid the country of rascals who excite the people to unite 
against us; such monsters ought to be stifled as I did Michael Serve- 
tus.'^ Dear reader, do you belong to the John Calvin Church and 
are you following in his footsteps, or are you in the Church of the 
Living God your Redeemer? In your Church do ^' birds of a feather 
flock together? " Are you proud of the founder of your church? We 
know that he did not name his church after himself. 

There was not much godliness in Cahdnism in the sixteenth cen- 
tury. Jacob Grunet was executed in 1548 for having written some 
words in a threatening manner to the real dictator, Calvin. Michael 
Servetus, a native of Aragno, while passing through Geneva was 
arrested and burned on the 27th of October, 1553, by order of the 
dictator for having published some heretical dogmas of the Trinity 
which were very mild compared with my views of the Trinity. Gen- 
tills was condemned to death for saying that Calvin had erred in the 
doctrine of the Trinity. He escaped only by making a retraction. 
I have no hard feelings against John Calvin, but I thank God that 
Calvinism is practically dead and among the things of the past, and 
that religious liberty and freedom of thought have taken its place. 
Calvin said, '^Some are created for everlasting life, others for eternal 
death.'' This is not true. If there is everlasting life all were created 



138 THE BOOK OF TRUTH 

for it. If we do not have it, it is not God's fault, but our own. We 
cannot expect wisdom from sectarian slaughterers like Calvin, the 
father and founder of the Presbyterian Church. 

MARRIAGE 

Man in selecting a wife should be more careful than when buying 
a cow, a horse, or a house. Remember, you are choosing for life, 
unless she dies first. It is just as important that she should love you 
as it is that you love her. It is a far better place to look for a wife 
in the churches or among godly people than in the dance halls, in 
the streets, or even in the theatres. Do not be so foolish as to think 
that your future happiness depends on any particular one who may 
not like you. God has millions to select from if you are what you 
should be. Do not take one woman because some one else wants her. 
If you do you may do some other man a favor and get something you 
do not want and will find hard work to get rid of. Whether your 
children are to be giants or dwarfs, sturdy of physique or sick weak- 
lings depends upon your choice of a wife. Marriage is a civil con- 
tract or an agreement between the parties. They are free moral 
agents. God does not interfere any more than He does with our 
occupation. If marriages are made in heaven, God makes many 
bad mistakes which should be impossible with an Infinite Being. 
There are no marriages in heaven. God does not unite man and 
woman in wedlock, but priests, ministers, and officers of the law do 
that. When a man's wife becomes through sinful indulgence an 
unworthy woman and unfitted for motherhood it would be a wrong to 
keep her as a wife to bring children into the world to suffer and be 
accursed because of such a mother. God never requires it. I do 
not care what some of the writers of the Bible say, for God is not 
responsible for their writings. It is the duty of a godly man to leave 
such a woman and take one after God's own heart. There is no 
reason why he should live alone all his life because it is the religion of 
some society called a church. Thank God and the lawmakers that 
our laws do not require it; that they can be evaded in a just cause 
without committing sin. The people are governed by the people 
and not by the church. A man and a woman can be legally married 



FUTURE RELIGION OF THE WORLD 139 

without the assistance of the ministers. The wife should not be 
made to suffer all her life, and without her consent, for the drunken 
brutishness and ungodliness of a wicked husband who does not pro- 
vide for her and spends most of his time and money with other women ?• 
neither should she be made to live alone, if she leaves him, and be 
deprived of the happiness and blessing of having and raising a happy, 
godly family of her own. God does not require her to suffer in a 
case like this. If the priest does, I would tell him his advice is not 
wanted and show him the door; that he was neither my God nor my 
master. If we make mistakes in this world, God wants us to correct 
them and make ourselves happy, and also the community in which we 
live. Is it not the better way for a divorced woman to legally marry 
a man than to live with him without marriage? If men and women 
could have been made virtuous and godly by statutory provisions 
it would have been done long ago and we would have but little use 
for the priests. How could Adam and Eve have been legally married? 
There were no priests or officers of the law then. Therefore we must 
be illegitimate children, and this may account for God giving us one 
of our own kind for a Saviour. This completes the story; why not 
swallow it? Those who can swallow the dogmas of the Christian 
Church have the capacity to swallow almost anything. Women 
who are for sale are only merchandise and we are better off 
without them. We should be mated so that our glory will be the 
glory of God, our future children, and the world, and a blessing to 
mankind. 

If Christ is God, his mother must have been a goddess. Christ 
never was married, but why should we follow in his footsteps? If the 
Bible is true there is no use of virgins getting married while the spirit 
of the Holy Ghost is around. We should do our own thinking when 
we read the Bible and not believe all the fish and ghost stories. Mar- 
riage for love is far better than for money or by contract, the latter 
meaning not love, but divorce and selfishness — the curses of the 
world. We should be careful what kind of offspring we bring into 
the world. We should know nature's laws and let love settle the 
rest. A mother-in-law is not a very bad kind of furniture, in some 
QdiStSj if your wife has been weaned from her mother and the liabilities 



I40 THE BOOK OF TRUTH 

do not exceed the assets; but we should be careful not to get something 
that will torture us. 

Some of the world's great and noble men and women had a divorced 
father or mother. If divorced people had not been allowed to marry, 
these people would never have entered the world. God has never 
given the authority to these ungodly, sectarian Christians to keep His 
children from entering this world because their mother or father have 
been divorced; neither should the state in which they live. God by 
His laws of nature makes no difference between those who are di- 
vorced and those who are not. If some of the priests had been per- 
mitted to make the laws Jesus Christ would not have been allowed to 
enter this world in the way the Scriptures say he did — born of a 
virgin. God enforces His holy laws, and the nations of the world 
should never allow religious people to make ungodly laws to the glory 
of the deviL 

LOVE 

The hen loves her chickens, the cow loves her calf, the sheep loves 
her lamb, the birds love their young, yet none of these ever heard 
anything about Christianity. The mother's love comes from her 
Creator. Our children need no other redeemer than their Heavenly 
Father for the resurrection of their spirit, which never dies, nor are 
they of a substance that needs the prayers of a priest after the death 
of the body. 

How can we love righteousness without hating ungodliness, mur- 
derers, and robbers? It is godliness to love God and hate evil. God 
made the things which are lovable for us to love. We have enough 
sorrows, afflictions, and troubles without making ourselves and others 
more miserable. We should wish our enemies and neighbors no harm 
and try to win their love. I know no good reason why we should love 
them as ourself or love their children or wives as we do our own, for that 
is not natural, and that kind of love does not come from above. It is no 
sin to love the world; if it was, God would not have made it so lovable. 

Horses, birds, dogs, and many other animals love the keeper and 
master who feeds them and is kind to them. They never received 
that love from the Bible or the Church but from the same source that 
Jesus and we get ours. God is the real giver of heavenly love and 



FUTURE RELIGION OF THE WORLD 141 

fatherly kindness and is the comforter of the sick and those who 
mourn for their loved ones who have been taken from them. The 
love of the mother for her child is natural. 

Men and w^omen may be desperately wicked, but it is not God's 
fault, for w^hen He created them they knew no sin. Hens do not lay 
rotten eggs and cows do not give sour milk. God does not give mothers 
and fathers wicked, sinful children. If they are bad later they were 
not so when they wxre born. 

It is not sinful to love the good or our father, mother, or children. 
God expects us to love all things that are lovable. That is what He 
made them for. The more we love the beautiful and God's creatures 
the more we will love Him. We do not have to abolish reason and 
nature to love God, unless we are orthodox Christians or weak-minded 
and let the preachers do our thinking. 

LIBERTY 

Lincoln will always be remembered for the emancipation of the 
black slaves; and so, also, will be remembered all those who strive 
and do their best in godly work for the emancipation of the human 
mind of all mankind so they can have a free, godly conscience, without 
the intervention of a minister in God's affairs. Most of us prefer to 
trust God rather than the priests. God expects us while on earth to 
look out for the rights of men and provide for our children. If you 
desire to please God and displease those who are living at the expense 
of the good, ignorant people, work for the cause of civilization and 
the liberty of conscience and you will accomplish your object. The 
enemies of reason are the enemies of religious liberty and godliness, 
as well as of the advancement of civilization. If you are willing to 
be governed by priestly despotism be superstitious, believe ecclesi- 
astical falsehood, and let the priest make a puppet of you. There is 
no doubt that you have the privilege of doing so. But in that case 
the priest will keep you and your family as poor and needy as a 
church mouse. Liberty is not a product of the dogmas of the Christian 
Church. It was righteousness and such men as Lincoln, Phillips, 
Garrison, Beecher, and the Union soldiers who made it possible to 
abolish slavery of the body. Those who oppose slavery of the mind 



142 THE BOOK OF TRUTH 

are following in the footsteps of those who opposed slavery of the 
body. The human mind should be emancipated from slavery and 
oppression and have freedom of thought. An intellectual faith is the 
only sure foundation to save us from being led astray or swindled. 
The drum and the fife are more apt to lead us to war than to God. 
Yet the drum of the ear may enable us to hear. 

Washington, Jefferson, Adams, and all the signers of the Dec- 
laration of Independence did more in their day for the present genera- 
tion than all of the churches in the United States at that time. The 
former looked forward and saw war, poverty, hardships, and death, 
and offered their lives as a sacrifice to their country; but they also 
saw in the far distance a free people and expected religious liberty 
in spite of the churches. A religion which is forced down the throats 
of the people by a kingdom or nation by the use of a standing army 
is not worth the powder, or fit for a godly people. Only wicked 
rulers do this kind of business. Men should have a religion of good 
quality and unite with others so as to relieve the struggle for exist- 
ence and provide for future wants. 

WOMEN AND IDLENESS 

God never made woman to sit on a feather cushion in idleness all 
her days and be supported by a man, for that is not true womanhood, 
and is something a righteous woman should be ashamed of. If God 
had intended this He would have allowed a woman to bring her 
children into the world in the same manner that an old hen does her 
chickens, and would have provided a man to feed them. 

The commandment "Six days shalt thou labor '' applies to women 
the same as it does to men. A woman who marries a man and does 
no work, but lives with him and brings her children up on a cow, is a 
drone, is but little better than a prostitute, and should be shunned 
by other women. A woman should obey the laws of nature even if 
she is wealthy. Work and exercise will lengthen her days and make 
her more healthy. If possessed of riches she should work for the good 
of humanity among the sick and affiicted and be a blessing to the 
community, then her name will be handed down to future generations 
as one of God's angels of love. 



FUTURE RELIGION OF THE WORLD 143 

The early Christian Church did not do much to elevate women when 
it taught they should obey their husbands, even though some of 
these men were lazy, drunken brutes who made slaves of their wives. 
It is an outrage to accuse God of uniting such men to good women by 
marriage. It is bad enough to accuse a minister of committing such a 
crime, knowingly. The preachers until a short time ago would not 
allow women to speak in church. The story of the Virgin Mary and 
the birth of Jesus did not elevate women to their rightful position. 

It is a bad example for women to have children who never had an 
earthly father. There is no doubt that the Virgin Mary was a good 
woman and a godly mother. Nearly four hundred years after the 
birth of Jesus the Scripture makers lied about the Virgin Mary, the 
birth of Jesus, his resurrection and ascension so as to make a success 
of the Christian religion. 

women's sin 

Many a woman has lost her life or health by disobeying God's 
holy laws of nature by committing the sin of abortion. If the priest 
had the power to forgive the sin he would have the power to remit the 
penalty. In such cases the physician is superior to the minister who 
tries to restore you to health, without medical assistance, by the use 
of prayer and hot air. God's means for restoring the victim of ill 
health are by physicians of skill, wisdom, and experience, and nature's 
laws. Women should make their confessions to the doctor, who 
hold such in confidence, and not to the priest whose prayers are 
worthless. In such cases delays are dangerous. 

Women are more godly than men and altogether more lovable and 
charitable. The old pagan laws recognized the wife as the equal of 
her husband, which is more righteous than the teachings of Jesus and 
his apostles. We should teach what is godly regardless of where it 
came from. 

INSPIRATION 

Godliness to the wise is not myth, mystery, or miraculous, but as 
natural as nature. The better we understand the sciences and know 
God, the plainer it is to us. Those who search for the truth will find 
it. Our inspiration is for all of God's people, and it should not be 



144 THE BOOK OF TRUTH 

withheld from them by those who receive it, or sold for money. It 
should be given to mankind, even if it cuts like a two-edged sword 
and makes the devils mad and dangerous. 

That which is not true cannot be inspiration. Whether you find 
it in the Bible or some other book makes no difference. There are 
those now living who are as much inspired as anybody was in the days 
of Moses or Christ; but the world usually fails to find such things out 
until the former have been dead for many years. We should be sure 
our preaching and writing are inspired of God; then we may know 
they are profitable for instruction and correction. 

God's inspired and revealed truth at the present time is just as 
sacred as that revealed in Biblical times through men of ignorance 
and superstition who could not read, write, or transmit it to others 
so it could be understood. Even in the days of Christ his disciples 
in some of his teachings were unable to understand him; but they 
knew and fully understood the laws of nature by their own experience 
and the experience of others, because nature's laws were and are 
natural and there were no myths about them. If all the men were 
inspired who wrote the Scriptures the devil must have got hold of 
some of their writings before they were published and disfigured them. 
Righteousness and godliness are not confined to any particular persons, 
and originally came from God. 

FAITH 

If Christ, after he had been dead, had come back to this world 
alive and in the body he would have told his disciples all about death, 
heaven, eternity, and the future life. He did not do these things 
because, according to the story of the resurrection, Christ's expecta- 
tions did not materialize. Resurrection of the body is a violation of 
God's laws of nature which no man is able to bring about. The 
resurrection of Jesus as set forth by the Scripture makers is a fraud and 
an imposition upon the public, and is a sin against God our Creator. 

Dear readers, do not feel badly and think that your last hope of 
eternal life is gone. Give up your false hope and trust not in man 
born of woman but in God who created the sun, seasons, heaven, 
and all the worlds. He gives us earthly life and is able to give us 



FUTURE RELIGION OF THE WORLD 145 

eternal life after the death of the body. The spirits of our dear ones 
will meet together in His kingdom not made with hands, but eternally 
in the heavens. 

When we are in London, New York, Chicago, or any of our large 
cities if we have much money in our pockets and wear diamonds and a 
gold chain we shall find it safer to walk by sight and use our reason 
and not venture to walk by faith. Never abolish reason to accept 
any religion by faith. If it will not stand the test of reason and in- 
vestigation it is worthless and likely to be fraudulent, for men are 
not gods. We know that it is not Mohammed, Confucius, Buddha, or 
Christ who makes vegetation grow, the sun to shine, the tide to rise, 
or made the stars in the skies. Man is something more than flesh, 
bones, and blood. Matter cannot think or reason. The soul spirit 
of man can, so let us have faith in the Being who created us. 

CHARLES A. BRIGGS, D. D. 

A few years ago Dr. Charles A. Briggs was condemned for heresy 
by the ^^Blue Lights Society," generally known as the Calvinists, 
because he said that there were three great fountains of divine author- 
ity — the Bible, the Church, the reason. His opponents thought he 
was depreciating the authority of the Bible and exaggerating the 
authority of the reason which God had given him expecting he would 
use it. We think there is nothing better in the world to guide us 
than reason. There is more intelligence in the Church to-day than 
ever before, but not enough to appreciate the reason which God has 
given some of us. There is much more reason outside of the Church 
than there is in it. The Bible is no more believed than many other 
books in circulation among good people. The pious, weak, sour- 
minded frauds have had no messages from God for the last nineteen 
hundred years which they were willing to accept, so they think that 
no one else has. If they only knew that God speaks to men through 
men to-day just as he did thousands of years ago they would not have 
made such asses of themselves and condemned Dr. Briggs. The 
action of the Church in this case and many others has kept millions 
of people who think for themselves outside of the churches. Dr. 
Briggs also says, ^^In the reason the voice of God speaks within a 



146 THE BOOK OF TRUTH 

man. In the Bible God speaks in sacred record. In the Church God 
speaks in divine institutions." I think it is far better to be outside 
of such a church and be with God than to be with those who let igno- 
rant, dead fishermen and such men as Calvin do their thinking and 
have no regard for those who use the reason which God has given 
them. Such institutions may be able to muzzle a goat or a helpless 
lamb, to protect their ^^ trade union," but they cannot coerce an 
intelligent man who does his own thinking and believes in God and 
His holy laws of nature. 

Dr. Briggs was suspended from the Presbyterian ministry because 
he would not swallow all the dogmas of John Calvin and his followers, 
and was too godly a man to stultify himself by preaching their ungodly 
doctrines. He fought a good fight for religious liberty. He was found 
guilty of heretical teaching by a vote of 383 to 116, which showed the 
Presbytery's lack of intelligence and godly tolerance. He was sus- 
tained by the Union Theological Seminary, which then became an 
independent institution. He was ordained by his friend, Bishop 
Potter, as a Protestant Episcopal minister in 1900, and died on June 
8, 1913, aged seventy-two years, with faith in God his Creator and 
only Redeemer and the reason he had developed in himself, which 
is a spirit worthy of eternal life in which the ungodly will trouble 
him no more. 

THE DEVIL 

There is no hell in heaven; if there were it would not be heaven. 
The only hell on earth is made by bad men and women. There are 
no personal devils, except those who belong to the human family. 
God made Christ and all of us of the same material, the dust of the 
earth, but there seems to have been a great difference in the quality 
of His product. That is not God's fault, but ours. He made us 
out of the raw material, leaving it to mankind to refine, polish, prune, 
and make himself more beautiful and attractive than the rose, and 
gave him a long time in which to do it. If we do not develop a 
spirit worthy of eternal life, what can we expect after the death of 
the body? 

What the Lord has given thee, see to it that the devil does not take 
from thee. The devil in this world sometimes looks like a man, at 



FUTURE RELIGION OF THE WORLD 147 

other times like a woman, but always acts like the devil. We should 
not make any heavenly investments in dreamers, magic, sorcerers, 
oracles, or visions of lunatics, for they may land us in the madhouse. 
The word devil and deity are derived from the same Hindoo word, 
which indicates we can make a good name out of a bad one or a bad 
name out of a good one. Let us strive to hold fast to that which is 
good, for our name is what we make it. If the devil is your god, he is 
likely to make you infallible or anything else that will serve his pur- 
pose; he is partial, for all bad men are. God and all good men who 
are striving to be godly are impartial, except Jesus and Christians. 

BELIEF 

Belief in exercise will do you no good unless you take exercise; to 
believe in sleep will not give you rest unless you have sleep. Neither 
will believing in God do you any good unless you live up to His 
requirements. Remember that all the requirements of the priest 
that you should feed and clothe them and obey their commands are 
not the requirements of God. The Bible is not true when it says, 
'^BeHeve in the Lord Jesus Christ and thou shalt be saved.'' No 
human being or Christ ever had the power to give us eternal life. 
The Roman Catholic Christian Church in the sixteenth century tried 
to make this saying true by murdering milHons of people in the most 
cruel manner because they did not believe in Christ. That was the 
ungodly way in which the Scriptures were fulfilled. Do not be led 
astray by false teachers, but trust in the God who created you and 
the heavens and the earth and all will be well. 

Never lie to God or man for the purpose of becoming a member of 
any society called a church, for God may hold you accountable to 
Him. If you do not beHeve Christ is God, or that he went to hell 
and the third day arose again, or in the resurrection of the body, say 
so and let the world know it. Worship God in those churches which 
do not require such beliefs. I am not orthodox, but a progressive. 
My communication with God was not cut off nineteen hundred years 
ago. My belief is subject to change at any time without notice 
whenever a spiritual message from the throne of God informs me that 
I am wrong in any particular. My dear friends, is it so with you, or 



148 THE BOOK OF TRUTH 

is your belief only changed when you get your orders from the bishopj 
the priest, or the pope? Do not be led by superstition or fear, but 
by the reason and the intelligence God has given you. 

Witnesses in a court of justice are not asked what they believe, but 
what they know. Belief will not make wrong right or right wrong or 
change the facts. You might believe that you could rob a man of his 
money, then go to the priest and give him part of it and have your 
sins forgiven without returning the stolen money; but that does not 
make such a belief true. It may soothe your conscience, if you have 
any, and give you courage to rob some one else. The priests by doing 
that kind of business do not make the world better, but worse, which 
is not their intention. 

SECTARIAN INSTRUCTION 

The sectarian societies commence teaching their children when 
they are very young the dogmas of their particular Church. This 
accounts for the children being of the same faith as their parents 
when maturity is reached. There are few people who ever investi- 
gate the doctrines they have been' taught. 

They generally accept the Bible as the Word of God which came 
down from heaven already printed in their own language. 

We must have progressiveness in godliness first, then progressive- 
ness in politics, and justice, righteousness, and humanity will speedily 
follow. 

Whimsical and doctrinal writings should not be taken for historical 
facts without investigation. When the writer of this book makes 
use of them it is to enlighten those who accept them as their rule and 
guide to righteousness, truth, and faith, and who take almost every- 
thing in the Bible as the Word of God. God had no more to do 
with the Bible than He does with many other books of the present 
generation. 

The stories of the serpent in the garden of Eden and Balaam's ass 
are allegories, for such creatures cannot talk. If any of us should 
say we had some that could do so there is no one of intelligence who 
would believe us. Why should we believe things because we found 
them in an old book written thousands of years ago? 



FUTURE RELIGION OF THE WORLD 149 

CHILDREN 

When a child is in a burning building and in danger of losing its 
life the brave fireman goes in, lays hold of him and brings him out of 
the burning flames, but the foolish priest gets down on his knees and 
pleads with God and tries to pray the child out of danger. Which 
one is doing the will of God? You applaud the brave fireman and 
turn the hose on the priest — or should do so. 

Is it possible that God's children were so bad thousands of years 
before they were born that He had to have a good man murdered 
so as to enable Him to save their souls? Oh, ye hypocrites! You 
may teach what you will but godly people will believe in their Hea- 
venly Father still. 

The way in which Jesus is said to have been born is only a story, 
but it reveals to us a great truth: That all children, whether legitimate 
or illegitimate, have a godly right to be born and to live out their 
natural days in this world according to God's holy laws of nature. 
That which is not sin for Mary is not sin for others who are godly 
mothers like Mary; but it is a sin for us not to support and provide 
for our little ones when we know they are ours and we are able to 
do so, and it is a crime for doctors or others to destroy the lives of 
such offspring. Many a woman has ruined her health and wrecked 
her life and future happiness by being disobedient to these laws of 
health, which are righteous. 

We must be wise and just if we expect to receive the blessings of 
nature's laws and of the God who made them. The reason and spirit 
of a baby develops with the body. The same germ of eternal life is in 
the child as is in the adult. While the baby has not the intelligence 
of the adult, still there is a spirit, a something, for the mother to love 
in eternity, and this spirit does not depend on the prayers or ceremonies 
of a priest for its future heavenly happiness in the great hereafter. 

You do not believe the truth because when you were young you 
were taught differently. You may have been afraid of the bugs 
called darning needles when you were a child because you were told 
they would sew up your ears, and you may also have been told if 
you handled toads you would have warts. These things are not so 



ISO THE BOOK OF TRUTH 

but you are afraid to handle a toad, which shows what effect early- 
education has upon the mind when we have attained maturity. Many 
of our most noted men have some weak points due to defective early 
education. Be a godly man. Never allow your second wife to abuse 
your children whose dear mother is dead. Woman, be godly and 
just to orphans. Do not marry a man with little children whose 
mother is dead unless you can be a godly mother to them, for it is 
far better for you to live in a garret and die an old maid than to offend 
one of God's motherless children. 

The soul of a child is developed with the body by growth and 
environment. It makes no difference to us of what God has made us 
provided He has made a good job of it. We know there is something 
in us that is not matter, but which is of the same substance as that 
of our Maker. Whether we call it spirit, soul, mind, or reason, we 
mean the immortal part of man. If we are God's good children at 
death we can go to our Father's house even if we never heard of 
Jesus or the priests and nothing about the Trinity or atonement. 
Our Heavenly Father will never ask us if we belonged to the Church, 
Masons, or Odd Fellows. He will be as glad to see us as we will be to 
see Him. He is not to be held accountable for the writings in the Bible. 
All books are written by men, but He is not responsible for them. 
Children are like the potter's clay — they are what we make them. 

A father should never whip his child unless he does it for the same 
purpose that a cow licks its calf — because he loves it. Some chil- 
dren are worse than calves and need a fatherly correction; it should 
be administered in a fatherly way — not with a club, but with the flat 
of the hand in a fat place. 

If we allow the Church to teach the children that the Bible is the 
Word of God and assert that all the rest of the dogmas of the Church 
are inspired, we must expect our children to be stupid, and that their 
intelligence and reason will be impaired so they will swallow almost 
anything the priest or the preacher teaches them without doing their 
own thinking. 

We should be able to make children good by kindness and teach- 
ing them that which is just and reasonable without lying to them about 
religion or keeping them in fear. There is only one true religion, 



FUTURE RELIGION OF THE WORLD 151 

and you will find it among nearly all of the nations of the earth, and 
that is godliness and a belief in God. There is a little of it in all 
religions, but when you take that little out of some of them there is 
but little left worth saving. 

We know we can make our dog, goat, or horse good by being good 
and kind to them. Why should we not be able to do the same with 
our children if they have not been spoiled by ourselves or by others? 
It should be the business of the Church to better the condition of the 
children in this world. Children of the wicked are better when they 
are born than they are after living with their parents a few years, 
which indicates that they were born good. 

SLAVERY 

If our Heavenly Father intended that part of mankind should be 
slaves He would have made these beings He intended to be slaves of a 
different species and of an inferior intelligence, like the horse, goat, 
or ass, and not equal to mankind. But such is not the case. All 
mankind are of one blood and the same species, and different from 
all other species. Some human beings are yellow, red, white, or 
black, caused by different climates and nationalities in many cases, 
and so we may identify each other. Yet the bones of all mankind 
are the same when they are properly developed by nature. A godly 
mother or father never wants any of their children to become a slave 
to other persons. While God has permitted slavery. He has never 
approved of it nor is He responsible for it. He has left it to man to 
look after all His creation in this world and has reserved for Himself 
and not the priest the duty of providing for His children in the next. 

LINCOLN AND SLAVERY 

God did not raise up Abraham Lincoln to free the slaves any more 
than he raised up the wicked murderer who killed him. 

Lincoln, Grant, and many others should have all the glory and 
praise for the part they took in the emancipation of the black man. 
It is man's duty to free slaves and not God's. If it had been God's 
duty he would have freed all the slaves of the world thousands of 
years ago. We should not take all the dogmas of the Presbyterians 



152 THE BOOK OF TRUTH 

for righteousness. The doctrine "That God foreordains whatsoever 
comes to pass '^ is Calvinism and is a slander against the Deity. 

PROBATION 

The Methodists admit people into the Church for six months on 
probation so as to be sure they are good. The Roman Christian 
Church is more godly in this respect, for they take bad people into 
the Church and try to make them good. By that way the Catholics 
are doing the work of Christ in his way. If you go fishing and get a 
brook trout on your hook you do not give him six months to get off, 
but you land him as quick as possible. That is the way Jesus' fisher- 
men used to do, so we do not think any of them were Methodists. 
An Irishman who was taken into the Methodist Church on probation 
fell in love with one of the Methodist sisters. He asked the minister 
to marry them on probation. The minister informed him that this 
was not allowed by the Church and that it was a violation of the 
laws of the state, also that it would be better to finish the job at 
once, which was agreeable to all parties. Then the Irishman took 
his wife with him to the Roman Church, where they were not in the 
probation business. 

MOTHER AND FATHER 

We should love and respect our father and mother. Remember 
it was them who brought us into the world and cared for us when 
we were young, feeble, and unable to care for ourselves. There are 
natural relations which should exist between husband and wife, father 
and son, brother and sister, and all mankind. 

If we are just and unselfish our instincts and godly teaching will 
tell us what they are. No husband should permit the priest to be 
a go-between for him and his wife, except in cases when the husband 
and wife cannot live together in harmony. Give your wife an op- 
portunity to repent and save the respect of the family. "To err is 
human; to forgive is divine." 

GREAT men's MOTHERS 

When men are great, they generally inherit the qualities that make 
them so from their mother. It must have been so with Jesus, if 



FUTURE RELIGION OF THE WORLD 153 

the Bible is true that he never had any real, earthly father. The 
intelligence of women is equal to that of men. God is impartial, 
so how could it be otherwise. Women are the only beings on earth 
fit to bring humanity into the world, but have to depend on the as- 
sistance of God and man. The Virgin Mary was no exception. 

MIND 

The hiunan mind is subject to God's laws of nature, which includes 
mind as well as matter. Mind is of the spirit; matter is of the 
earth. The soul, the immortal part of man, is in the head. It 
is only Christians who think it is in that pumping organ called the 
heart. 

When we refer to the mind, we mean the intellectual power of 
man. The reason is that part of man that thinks and develops the 
spirit, the soul, the immortal and eternal life of man — which is the 
real man after the death of the body. 

MISERABLE 

We should try not to make ourselves and people about us miser- 
able or lay awake nights to eat the bread of sorrows; but take every- 
thing as it comes and make the best of it. 

We should be as happy as possible under all circumstances, which 
is God's will. 

MODESTY IN DRESS 

The changes of styles in dress are made by a class of people who 
are making a living out of the business at the expense of the masses. 
It is no sin for mankind to dress well and look clean, pretty, and 
attractive. Apples sell better when they are polished; but it is not 
manly to be imposed upon by this class of people by allowing them 
to make a parrot, peacock, or monkey out of any of our family at 
our expense. We should have clothes suitable for summer and winter, 
and some among us should set the example in dress, preferably the 
rich and modest. Wear plain clothes made in such a way that they 
will look well and respectable, and wear them as long as they look 
neat, regardless of the styles, and let fobs and silly women change 
the styles every month or so. The dress should indicate what kind 



154 THE BOOK OF TRUTH 

of an object there is inside of the clothes, so that we can tell the name 
of the bird by seeing its feathers. 

MYTHS 

When we read in the Bible or any other book that rocks, cows, and 
water speak, that God appears in human form, that men cure the 
sick by command and do miracles, that dead men walk out of the 
grave alive, call on their friends, and ascend to heaven, we should 
regard these things as myths and fables. 

All religions founded by men have their alleged miracles, but that 
does not make these religions true or from God our Creator. They 
are as prone to be devilish as divine. 

THE HEAVENLY MONOPOLY 

Mankind possesses almost all the earth, and is the only animal 
that claims the whole earth; but the Christians claim also the heavens 
and all eternity. They have selected the spirit of a dead man to be 
one of the godhead, and the Holy Ghost to be another. Thus they 
have a majority of the Trinity, which exists only in their minds, so as 
to control all the worlds in the great hereafter; but when they get 
there they may find the Trinity to be only a dream. 

NON-EXISTENCE 

We cannot always state positively that things are non-existent be- 
cause we have not the ability to see them or comprehend their existence. 
All the things of this world or eternity have not thus far been revealed 
to man. God 's laws of nature have never allowed the dead to return to 
this world and reveal their future state, and we should not be foolish 
enough at this late day to expect it, but should have faith enough in God 
not to be troubled about the life after death of the body. Those who 
live the life of the just will die and be with the godly and all the good 
spirits wliich have gone before, but their bodies on earth are no more. 

OUR OBJECT 

It is our object to make the moral, social, political, and religious con- 
dition of the people in all parts of the world better, wiser, and more 



FUTURE RELIGION OF THE WORLD 155 

godlike, and to expose the religious frauds who are false teachers and 
impostors living at the expense of honest, hard-working people, keep- 
ing them in ignorance and fear by preaching of hell fire and brimstone. 
It may cut Kke a two-edged sword to do this, but may Thy will be done 
so Thy children can reap the harvest. 

PLEASURE 

Rest includes other things besides sleeping and loafing. When a 
church gives an entertainment to the public it is moral and just that 
an admission fee should be charged to pay the expenses. The time 
will come when the churches will supply this want and not leave it to 
immoral managers of low-class theatres. Most of the doors of the 
churches are closed six days out of every seven. It is mean business 
for people to live at the expense of the church and not give an equiva- 
lent for what they receive when they are able to do so. 

When we get the habit of giving, it will be a pleasure to us to give, 
and we shall give willingly or at least pay for what we get. 

POSTERITY 

We should investigate all things which are or will be of interest 
to us and posterity, and find out all we can about God and eternity. 
We should expose all religious impostors who are keeping mankind 
in ignorance for worldly gain; also, we should study the sciences, thus 
cultivating our minds and gaining in intelligence, that we may 
lengthen our days here on earth and leave behind us knowledge that 
will be a blessing to all future generations. 

THE PURITANS 

The Puritans of New England in Massachusetts whipped godly 
people and cut off their ears, burned their tongues with red-hot irons, 
and banished them upon pain of death in case of their return to the 
state because they differed from them in religion. In the seventeenth 
century these same Puritans put to death many innocent people 
whom they called witches, and these ungodly murders and crimes were 
committed in the name of Christianity. The men who did the most 
to put a stop to these crimes were those whom Christians call heretics 



156 THE BOOK OF TRUTH 

and infidels, yet they were more righteous than those murderers who 
called themselves. Christians. 

We are known by our fruits and not by our belief. Christianity 
now is the same as it ever was, but men have changed and they do not 
preach it the same as they used to do. 

STORIES 

Jewish history is full of stories. It does not make any difference 
whether you find them in the Bible or some other books, they are 
stories just the same. You can generally tell them by their unreason- 
ableness and because they are contrary to the laws of nature, whether 
the writer says '' thus sayeth the Lord" or not does not change the facts 
or indicate that God wrote them, for He has no hands, and spirits do 
not write books. According to Berosus, the Chaldean historian, in the 
days of Alexander the Great there was a being having the head and 
feet of a man attached to the body of a fish. This being lived in the 
Red Sea and used to come ashore to instruct and civilize the people. 
This story is just as unreasonable as some of those fish stories in the 
Bible, but the Christians have not cultivated an appetite to swallow it, 
although they easily could if it were in the Bible. 

KILLING FOR SPORT 

If there must be a sacrifice, let it be a sheep or a goat in place of a 
human being, for such is the will of God. There should be no 
sacrifice even of a goat unless it is for food and clothing for man. 
No one should be allowed to kill game just for sport, for it is 
created by the same God who created us, and it has a moral right 
to live. Life is as dear to it and its offspring as it is to us. 
The man who takes the life of the squirrel, deer, pigeon, or partridge 
just for sport is a brute and there should be no game season for that 
class of men. 

God never required the blood of any human being or domestic 
animal for His sake, neither will their blood atone for sin. When he 
requires the blood of fowls, sheep, or cattle it is for His children's 
sake, that they may have food and live in the flesh for humanity's 
sake. 



FUTURE RELIGION OF THE WORLD 157 

BORROWING TROUBLE 

We should not borrow trouble in regard to being unhappy in heaven 
while the rest of our family are in hell, for there is no such place as hell. 
When wife and family die and leave us in the empty house alone we 
should remember that after we have had a good crying spell God will 
comfort us. The only thing that should trouble us is that our family 
may be in heaven and we shall not be good enough to be admitted to 
such a place. That is our fault and not God's. 

We should not bring troubles upon ourselves or our families, but 
prevent misfortune by obeying the laws of nature. When troubles 
come bear them as best you can, for they may be blessings in disguise. 

WORSHIP 

When we worship the spirits of dead men as our God, we are do- 
ing something that an ignorant Indian would be ashamed of. Gods 
of this world are not the God of Creation. God is in all the stars^ 
which are worlds. He is in the sun, which is about ninety-three 
millions of miles from us, the same as He is in this world. He is the 
God we should worship. Oh, ye ^' worms of the dust'' clothed in 
priestly robes and garments who worship books called Bibles, and 
gods made of mud, stone, wood, flesh, and blood, you should be in 
better business. Most of the sectarian people think they worship 
God, but they make a mistake in His identification and take some- 
thing else for Him. Ghost worship is as bad as is the worship of 
the bull or golden calf. We cannot make Gods out of Holy Ghosts or 
spirits of dead men any more than we can out of monkeys. 

Obey and worship God rather than men, for they only have power 
to destroy the body, but not the spirit, the soul, the immortal part 
of man. 

TRADITION 

It is not the best way to accept without investigation teachings 
which are handed down to us by apostolic tradition or dreamers. 
If these teachings are contrary to reason and the laws of nature they 
must be false. 

Truth and tradition are not twins. Tradition tells us many 



iS8 THE BOOK OF TRUTH 

things which are not true, but the truth tells us that which is always 
true or it would not be truth. 

TRANSLATION 

The translation of the New Testament was the work of many hands 
during many generations, and most of those who did this work had 
but little critical skill or experience. We know of none of them who 
claimed to be infallible. In many cases where the translators could 
not agree the majority vote decided what things should be. If the 
Bible is the Word of God He must have dictated to the writers what 
they should write, and the translators and the typesetters would have 
to be infallible. 

There is no doubt that many of the translators of the Bible were 
not godly men. If it was the ^^Word of God'' as printed, there 
would have been no reason for revising this '^ Word of God" in 1881. 

VISIONS 

When Christ and other departed spirits have appeared to men in 
visions according to Biblical history, we must remember that it was 
only a visionary appearance. There was no more substance to those 
visions in those days than there are to visions now. 

The dreams of the prophets, witches, and clairvoyants of old were 
like shadows, due to a disorder of the mind or stomach. 

WARNING 

When we eat or drink too much of things which we should not, or 
violate any of God's laws of nature He generously warns us. Those 
of us who are wise will heed His warning or we will have to suffer the 
penalty. Dogs and rattlesnakes warn us before they bite or strike 
us; bees and wasps warn us before they sting us, good horses do the 
same before they bite or kick us. All of their goodness came to 
them from their Creator. They know nothing about the Bible. 
Bad men and women will butcher, poison, and rob us without 
warning. Most of them have read the Bible and heard the minis- 
ters preach that they can have their sins forgiven — if they have 
the price. 



FUTURE RELIGION OF THE WORLD 159 

THE WEAK 

The weak no longer have to succumb to the strong, nor have they 
to turn their possessions over to the Church in order to obtain pro- 
tection against the brute force of powerful, ungodly neighbors, but 
are protected in nearly all countries outside of the Church, as they 
should be, and are not at the mercy of sectarians. It is the will of 
God that His people should be happy. He wants us to be as happy 
as possible and to make those around us happy. We cannot court 
favor with God by making ourselves miserable in this world. 

Despotism is ungodly. All men and women should have their 
liberty when they do not abuse it and it is safe to let them have it. 
Gunboats can be used for a godly purpose. If they are not it is 
man's fault and not God's. 

WEEP NOT 

We cannot bring the dead to life by weeping, fasting, prayer, 
lamentation, or by making ourselves and every one around us 
miserable. We are subject to death. It is the only road to eternal 
life. 

The world is full of affliction, disease, decay, and sorrow. Let us 
not grieve and make our pain and sorrow greater; but rejoice for 
the brightness that exists beyond the clouds with our Creator and 
Redeemer and those who have gone before. 

WISDOM 

The highest knowledge, the most intelligence, and the greatest 
wisdom are not obtained by idleness, drunkenness, dreaming, or 
prayer, but by hard headwork, perseverance, and experience. When 
we do our part God will do His so that the world may reap the harvest 
and be wiser and better. 

Paul, the Apostle, had wisdom, but showed his weakness when 
he would not allow the women to teach, and advised Timothy to be 
no longer a drinker of water but to ^^ use a little wine for thy stomach's 
sake." Yet he had wisdom in using a bad thing for a good purpose. 
He worked at his trade and at spare times preached the gospel, as 



i6o THE BOOK OF TRUTH 

the Salvation Army preachers are now doing, thereby trying to make 
the world better. We are trying to do the same in a godly way. It 
is wise to go according to the dictates and conclusions of the head. 
If you do not find reason and intelligence there it is not worth while 
looking anywhere else for it. 

BE WISE 

If your horse breaks his leg or your dog has fleas, if your children 
go to school and catch the measles, or you eat too heartily of mince 
pie and suffer from indigestion, do not be simple-minded enough to 
think it was because you did not go to church on Sunday. Be wise, 
do your own thinking. Stay away from those places where they 
teach such nonsense or they will make a fool of you and get most of 
your money, which had better go to the support of your family. 
Be a hero and eat a good beefsteak on Friday if you want to do so. 
Stay away from church all summer and play ball on Sunday. Be 
careful what you eat and take plenty of exercise; then see if you are 
not well and strong. God will bless you for being a man and living 
according to His holy laws of nature. 

SEAWORTHY 

The laws of the imiverse, of nature, and all the rest of God's laws are 
for the greatest good to the greatest number of His creatures. We 
should build our vessel seaworthy before we go out far at sea, our 
houses should be made storm and wind proof before we occupy them. 
We should not build houses in the valleys where the great rivers 
overflow in times of spring floods. 

It is not God 's fault if we suffer as the result of building our houses 
near volcanoes. It is selfish, corrupt, and ignorant men, by sins of 
omission and commission, and corrupt, misleading newspaper pub- 
lishers, who are responsible for bad laws which make the few million 
heirs and the many millions poor and destitute. 

The public schools should teach the children political economy so 
that they may know how to abolish wicked and unjust laws. God's 
means for the repeal of unjust laws and the enactment of righteous 
ones are wisdom, votes, gunpowder, and firearms, mingled with mercy, 



FUTURE RELIGION OF THE WORLD i6i 

love, and righteousness. When there are righteous laws the rich will 
not be able to rob the poor under sanction of the law. 

SLANDER 

God is no more responsible for the writings in the Bible and the 
teaching and preaching in the days of Christ than He is for what min- 
isters preach now. It is ridiculous to call poems, the writings of dream- 
ers, and fish stories such as are in the Bible, true and the Word of God. 

If our Heavenly Father were a man here on earth He would be jus- 
tified in instituting a suit against some of these ministers for libel and 
slander. The Bible was written by Roman Catholic Christian theo- 
logians and put in circulation over three hundred and ninety years 
after the birth of Jesus, who, with his apostles, had been dead for over 
three hundred years. 

SNAKE STORIES 

Shed no blood unless it is to save the lives of others or in a case of 
self-protection. Those who do are unworthy of eternal life. God 
expects us to be kind not only to mankind but to the birds of the 
forest, animals of the fields, and to every living creature that is a bene- 
fit to mankind. The snake in the meadow is a friend to the farmer, 
for he eats bugs and insects which destroy the crops. Many reptiles 
have lost their lives on account of that ungodly Adam and Eve story 
in the Bible, and the ministers are to blame for teaching a dogma 
which is the real cause of it. 

REASON 

The wise man 's reason, mind, and intelligence are in his head so that 
he will always have them with him when he wants to use them. 
God would not give us reason unless he intended that we should use it. 
When He does not want us to use it he will take it from us. Then we 
will be fit subjects for a lunatic asylum or an orthodox church. A 
cultivated intelligence is much better than one which is not cultivated. 
In this respect the intellect is like grapes, apples, or strawberries — 
the larger and more perfect the greater the demand, except among 
orthodox Christians, who want to do all the thinking. It is reason 



i62 THE BOOK OF TRUTH 

that overcomes the strength of the beasts and brutes and distin- 
guishes right from wrong. It is far better to hold fast to reason and be 
a fox than to be simple and orthodox. 

If you are not devoid of reason exercise it and it will grow stronger 
and be a defence in times of need. 

RULERS 

Those who have by their own wisdom and force of example been 
able to induce people in the club, society, or community to live har- 
moniously together in justice and righteousness will make good rulers 
of the city, state, or nation in which they live. Men are the most 
highly endowed and have the greatest intelligence of all living crea- 
tures. Yet many have had their judgment warped and have been led 
astray by bad teaching, preaching, and selfish, wicked men. If we can- 
not make bad men good we can keep good men from falling into evil 
ways. 

Business men of experience, wisdom, toleration, and righteousness 
make the best rulers. Professional politicians, sectarians, and tricky, 
smart lawyers should confine themselves to their own sphere. ^^Let 
like cure like.'' 

INTELLIGENCE 

In the Dark Ages God spoke to men through their reason and in- 
telligence though both were so limited that mankind was unable to 
comprehend Him. He does the same now as He did then. His 
children are wiser now than they ever were before. We do not know 
the secrets of God, but we understand His laws of nature by experience 
and studying the history of the past. The things it is unwise for us to 
know, such as those which pertain to the spiritual world and eter- 
nity, are prudently kept from us. When the scientists know as much 
as God, they will be gods; but that time will never come. The surgeon 
knows that there is an intelligence in the body while it is alive, but in a 
post-mortem examination this intelligence is gone and he knows not 
where it has gone. He will have to reach the spiritual world before he 
finds out. 

It is impossible for men to develop their brains unless they use them. 
That is God's way of making men intelligent. When they swallow 



FUTURE RELIGION OF THE WORLD 163 

the dogmas of the church without investigation or thinking, they 
should be classified with some of the lower animals — very affection- 
ate, but not wise. Facts and the truth create wisdom. Nature never 
comprises with superstition or the Bible. 

ILLUSIONS 

No human being ever came into this world in the manner the Scrip- 
ture makers say that Jesus did. They are liars, and those who preach 
Christianity should know it. No chicken was ever hatched without 
having a rooster for its father. There never was a child born of woman 
without a father. God's holy laws of nature cannot lie, but the 
priests and Scripture makers can and do. A religion, which is founded 
upon the belief that the birth, resurrection, and ascension of Jesus 
Christ as recorded in the Bible are true, is an illusion; but when a re- 
ligion is a belief in God who is our Creator and Redeemer it is the 
glory of the world. 

COLONEL INGERSOLL 

Colonel R. G. IngersoU was a great advocate of personal liberty 
and he found fault with God because He allowed one man to pull 
the nose of another and slap his face and did not interfere. He should 
not have expected God to take the place of a policeman or a con- 
stable, and if He did interfere He would not be giving us personal 
liberty of the body and mind. God allows us to govern ourselves 
without any interference from Him. If we do not have religious and 
personal liberty in this world it is the fault of man and not God. 

FAMILY RECORD 

Practically everything in the Bible was written by Jews, except 
the family record, and that is just as much the Word of God as any 
of it, if it is true, for nothing can be the word of God unless it is true. 
God is not a liar, robber, murderer, or an accessory to any crime; 
neither is He a sheriff or policeman to enforce His laws, but the right- 
eous Judge of the World, the Maker of Heaven and Earth, who sends 
the rain, sunshine, and morning dew, so we can have the fruits of the 
earth. God does not keep our family or church record. We have 
to do that ourselves. He does not judge us in job lots, but as in- 



i64 THE BOOK OF TRUTH 

dividuals, as we should judge each other. It is our duty to save the 
lives of others in this world, for God has left it to us, and we have to 
leave it to Him to save us in the hereafter. 

FLOWERS 

Flowers used in churches on special occasions and at funerals 
should not be allowed to perish in the church or on the grave. They 
should be given to the sick, which in many cases would be a blessing 
of good cheer to those who need it. The custom of burying expensive 
cofiins with the dead when in the vicinity of the burial place many of 
the poor are suffering for shelter, food, and clothing is ungodly. The 
honor we pay to the dead is generally to ourselves. We can do our 
departed loved ones no honor; it is too late to save a spirit after the 
death of the body, for it is already saved or lost. The spirit that has 
eternal life never dies or needs the services of a priest. Funeral ser- 
mons are for the benefit of the living and not the dead. A Hve bush 
on the grave signifies more than a plucked rose which soon perishes 
and is no more. 

FASTING 

Fasting at times is a benefit to the stomach and liver, but it is silly 
to think that it should be done on particular days appointed by the 
priests, or that it is required by God as a benefit to the soul. God 
intended that we should use our stomachs and not abuse them by 
starvation or eating things which do not agree with us. The priests 
are very kind to allow their converts to eat crabs, bullheads, lobsters, 
herring, and salt codfish during lent, although it may be wrong for one 
fish to swallow another. It might cause some trouble if you should 
get a bone in your throat on some bad Friday. If you do, send for 
the physician, for he is God's man in such cases, so you will not die 
while some of Mother Eddy's practitioners are trying to pray the 
bone out. We should eat, drink, and sleep according to the needs of 
the body and not according to the orders of the Pope. It is not a 
sin to keep the body in good health, the mind strong, or for those who 
need it to eat brain food or work or play or pray on any day of the 
week. 



FUTURE RELIGION OF THE WORLD 165 

FACTS UNCHANGEABLE 

The history of the world as given in the Bible by the members of 
the society called the Church is unreliable in many particulars, and 
is unworthy of belief. The preachers cannot make it any better by 
calling it the ''Word of God'' or make it any worse by calling it the 
word of the devil. The facts remain the same. It is the worst kind 
of blasphemy to accuse your Heavenly Father of being the cause of 
crimes when you know that they were committed by wicked men for 
a selfish cause. If we are ill it is not God's fault, but our own or the 
fault of others. The man who takes poison and curses God and dies 
is a fool or a lunatic. Our only need of the Christian religion is the 
life and teachings of the man Christ which may make the world 
better whenever they are taught. We have God our Creator, and 
have no use for any more gods unless they are made of the same sub- 
stance that He is, and not born of woman. 

EUNUCHS 

It is safer to trust your wife and daughters with a eunuch than a 
priest. It should be safe in either case if the priests were allowed 
to marry or were all godly men. There is no middle ground, the 
priests should be eunuchs or be allowed to marry. To make them the 
former or to prohibit them from marrying is a violation of God's laws 
of nature. 

EUCHARIST 

It is absurd to pretend to identify the body of Christ who died 
about nineteen hundred years ago with the communion bread of 
to-day. Where in God's world did these Christians find the dust of the 
earth which contained the body of Christ? If they should claim to 
identify the spiritual body of Christ with the communion bread there 
might be some sense to it, but, as it is, transubstantiation is nonsense. 
Whatever the Scripture makers say that Christ said does not alter 
the facts. Christ's spiritual body, if it lives at all, lives just as ours 
will after our death. Christ's flesh and blood are no different than 
our dead fathers' and mothers' flesh and blood, which have gone back 
to mother earth from whence they came. 



i66 THE BOOK OF TRUTH 



SAVE YOUR EYES 



If thy right hand or eye offend thee do not destroy them, for thou 
mayest need them in thine old age. Try to use them for a righteous 
and just purpose. If any man smite thee on thy right cheek, keep 
away from him unless thou art able to defend thyself, or turn him 
over to the officers of the law so he will not be at liberty to do thee 
harm and make thee or thy family suffer by his brutality and sin- 
fulness. Be wise and use the reason God has given you. Do not 
be led astray by false teachings in the Bible or any other book. 
Preach and fight for righteousness. 

EDUCATED MEN 

An ignorant, honest man can be a faithful messenger of God and 
tell the truth just as well as any one, but when it comes to lying he 
cannot be as skilful about it as an educated man or make you believe 
it as quickly as a minister can. All the people should be educated 
so that they may be protected against those who depend for their 
living upon the ignorance and superstition of others. Thus the 
favorite smart set will have to be producers as well as consumers, 
and earn their daily bread as healthy, honest men should. 

CRAZY 

We know of our own knowledge that the Christian religion has 
made men and women crazy, but we never heard of a case where it 
ever made crazy people sane. Our advice to you is to keep away from 
all meetings of religious excitement, for they are dangerous; but hold 
fast to your godliness and faith in God, which will console and give 
you comfort in your dying hour. We are not among those who think 
that the second bite of a poisonous serpent will cure the first. 

When crazy, religious people are cured, you may take it for granted 
that it was good treatment and nature which did it. Be wise and 
keep away from those places where they make lunatics. 

THE CROSS 

The practice to make the sign of the cross is only a custom established 
by the Church so they can tell their sheep, who are their loyal subjects. 



FUTURE RELIGION OF THE WORLD 167 

If any of my friends were hung I would not care to wear an emblem 
of the rope with which they were hung. 

COMMUNION 

It is impossible to enter into communion with God by partaking 
of bread and wine with Him at the communion table, for God does 
not drink wine or eat bread. How could He if He is a spirit? It is a 
far better way to have intercourse with Him by doing His will and 
taking care of His children who need our care than by drinking wine 
and making a God of a dead man who died thousands of years ago 
and was a pretender, if the Scriptures are true, like the priests have 
been for the last fifteen hundred years. 

CEREMONIES 

God does not require us to be baptized to be Christians, to receive 
unction, to confess our sins to a priest, to go to church on Sunday, 
to refrain from eating meat on Friday, or to burn one of our children 
to death to appease Him in order to have eternal life. He is impartial. 
Our prayers will never make Him partial. If they did. He would not 
be a just God. But He expects that our goodness will exceed our 
badness, and that we will try to live a righteous life. 

There is nothing new in the rites, ceremonies, and symbols of the 
Christian Church except the clothes the priests wear. All the rest 
may be found in some of the older religions or other relics of the Dark 
Ages. 

THE BADGE 

Those who believe in ^^The Book of Truth" and progressiveness, 
religious and political liberty, in God our Creator and the spirit which 
never dies, should wear their badge and not be afraid to show their 
colors among those who believe these things, but their lives are too 
valuable to be sacrificed by Mohammedans, Turks, and ungodly 
Christians such as lived in the sixteenth century. A nation in which 
godly people are unable to defend themselves and have no protection 
from their government authorities, and in which the poor are badly 
fed and clothed and a few of the select classes are millionaires, is rotten 
to the core. The masses should rebel from the old political parties 



i68 THE BOOK OF TRUTH 

and select rulers who will give justice and the protection of a righteous 
government whose administrators are following in the footsteps of 
our Creator. 

BAD HERE, BAD THERE 

When apples, peaches, plums, or oranges are rotten or bad when 
they are shipped from the orchard, they will be bad upon arrival at 
their destination. If men are murderers, robbers, and oppressors 
of the poor and needy when they leave this world they will be no 
better when they reach the next; that is, if they ever get there. No 
one but an ungodly priest who has some of the cash in hand of the 
departed will vouch for a safe arrival and eternal happiness in the 
great hereafter for wicked people, and such an assurance is worthless 
to the dead, but very consoling to the relatives who have been swindled 
out of their money in the name of Christianity. Cows do not give 
bad milk, hens do not lay bad eggs, bees do not make bad honey, 
unless their material is bad. God does not bring bad children into 
the world. If they are bad now they were not so when they were 
born. If they are crippled it is not God's fault but the fault of man- 
kind and not nature. 

BUSINESS MEN 

The ministers of the churches require too much praying of their 
members, and there are too many restrictions for business men, who 
do not care to neglect their business to pray three or four times a 
day when they believe the laws of God are unchangeable and that 
He is impartial. Business men realize that prayer is a matter of 
form and that God does not expect it of them. Yet they are willing 
to share their part of the expenses of the Church and to thank God 
for the blessings they receive. So they keep out of the churches and 
become members of fraternal societies and attend to business as they 
should. They will not be humbugged or bulldozed by sectarian 
cranks or swallow things that are not true. 

BRIMSTONE IN HEAVEN 

"Then the Lord rained upon Sodom and upon Gomorrah brim- 
stone and fire from the Lord out of heaven.'' "Lot's wife looked 



FUTURE RELIGION OF THE WORLD 169 

back from behind him and she became a pillar of salt'' (Genesis 19: 
24-26). This is only fiction. There is no brimstone in heaven. 
They have no use for it there. The only place you will be able to 
find it is in this world in the neighborhood of volcanoes and the 
Christian churches, where they use it to purify the air. But it is 
generally used to bleach sponges, hops, and other kinds of mer- 
chandise. God never made salt out of women. Salt was created 
before women, when He made the earth. 

SPIRITUAL DEVELOPMENT 

The spirit of a man is developed in the body and with the body, 
as an oyster is developed in the shell and with the shell, but in an 
intelligent and spiritual manner. If the man does no thinking and 
has no religious liberty the soul cannot be properly developed and it 
becomes warped and dwarfed. This may enable us to understand 
what a curse the Roman Catholic Christian religion was to mankind 
in the Middle Ages by keeping mankind in subjection and inflicting 
the worst kind of torture, and butchering men, women, and children 
by the millions, because they would not accept the Catholic faith 
and bow to the priests and worship Christ instead of God their Creator 
and Redeemer. It is not God who punishes good men for the sins 
of bad men. Even the devil or a heretic would not do that. We 
will vouch for God, the devil, and the heretic, but not for the liars 
who accuse God of it. 

MISCHIEVOUS SPIRITS 

According to history we are told by Brooks and St. John of chil- 
dren who were begotten by certain spirits who were mischievous, and it 
was the doctrine of the Babylonians in regard to male and female 
spirits and their offspring. These supernatural ghost stories are only 
believed by ignorant people and orthodox Christians when they find 
them in the Bible. When we know that spirits are not mothers, we 
can take it for a fact that they are not fathers of new-born children, 
and there are no exceptions to the rule. 

Those things which come from God and His laws of the universe are 
natural, while those from pretenders are unnatural and false. If the 



I70 THE BOOK OF TRUTH 

body of Christ was not raised from the grave, your faith is vain; and 
then they also which are fallen asleep in Christ have perished (I Cor- 
inthians IS : 14-20). The writer of this gospel believed in the resurrec- 
tion of the body which was not raised from the dead, and, while this 
may be sad to the Christians, it is glorious to those who have God 
for their Saviour. 

INSANITY 

I do not know that Christianity ever cured insanity, but I do know 
of my own knowledge of many who became insane through religious 
excitement which was called Christianity, but must have been ungod- 
liness, judging by the result. So Christianity, when the quality is 
poor, must at times have a bad effect upon the minds of many people, 
and is a poor substitute for pure godliness, which comes from God. 

EARLY INSTRUCTION 

Men and women generally believe what the Church taught them 
when they were children, because they know no better. This ac- 
counts for those who believe it is wrong to eat meat on Friday, not 
to go to church at least once on each Sunday, to dance, to play cards, 
to exercise on Sunday, and not to pray four times a day. Others 
believe nothing of the kind and think that all Jonahs should be thrown 
overboard, and the quicker the better for the world. They always use 
the reason God has given them to the best of their ability and get all 
they can out of this world in a godly way, as men should. 

Much of the intelligence in man and the higher animals comes from 
cultivation, instruction, and experience. Those who do not do their 
own thinking and who keep bad company are liable to be led astray. 

GIVING 

When a man of wealth in a godly spirit gives donations and founds 
libraries, hospitals, institutions of learning, and homes for the blind, 
needy, sick, and afflicted, he is doing something for God by doing 
something for mankind, and God will bless him for it, without the 
prayers of a minister to remind Him of it. God does not judge men as 
we do. It is a man's works that count and keep him out of hell. 
God has bestowed many benefits upon us and we should show our 



FUTURE RELIGION OF THE WORLD 171 

gratitude to Him for His blessings. That cannot be done by prayer, 
which costs us nothing, but by giving of our substance to the worthy 
poor and needy, which is more pleasing to him. 

If we ever expect to do something for humanity now is the time, for 
life is short and uncertain. There will be no opportunity after death. 
It is now or never. When we make gifts which are free-will offerings 
to a worthy cause our joy is unspeakable and full of glory^ for it is 
the fruit of a love which comes from above. 

GREAT MEN 

Our great men came into the world the same as all others did 
(according to the laws of nature), and they went out of the world by 
death as others did. There is no reason why any exception should 
have been made in the case of Christ. Nature cannot lie, but Scrip- 
ture makers can. Orators and ministers have the habit of making 
dead men much greater than they were when they were alive. This in 
some cases is disgusting. None of the Jewish nation who saw Christ 
ever took him for anything but a man. The ministers preach him to 
be the Only Son of God and one of the godhead or one third of God. 
Which part do you think he is? These dogmas are absurd and it is a 
crime to teach them to children, for such teaching tends to make them 
foolish and weak-minded and destroy their intelligence, and then they 
will not think for themselves. In the name of justice refrain from 
such teaching and develop the greatness within them. 

GUIDES 

The worlds that we see in the skies, that we call stars, are the guides 
to the sailors on the mighty ocean. The sun by day and the moon 
and stars by night are our guides on earth as we travel from shore to 
shore, imtil, with us, time is no more. 

HOW THEY TRY TO MAKE MEN GOOD 

The government threatens crime with imprisonment and death to 
make people good, and carries out the threat. The Christian min- 
isters and priests preach we must accept Christ as our Saviour to make 
us good or we shall go to hell when we die and be tormented forever 



172 THE BOOK OF TRUTH 

and forever, and then all shout Amen and Amen. In the name of 
reason and God our Maker and only Creator be just, righteous, and 
godlike. Rest, dance, cry, and laugh when you feel like it. Work for 
what you get in this world when you are able to do so, for you need 
the exercise, and obey God's holy laws of nature. Trust in the God 
who brought you into this world to care for you in the next, and let 
your song be ''Nearer, My God, to Thee. " 

A just God will never accept the punishment of the innocent for the 
sins of the guilty, and God never has. We do not care what the 
writers of the Bible say, our information is from headquarters and of a 
later date. The washing of a clean man will not make some other 
filthy man clean. Neither will the killing of a good man make a bad 
man good. ''And God saw everything that he had made, and, behold, 
it was very good" (Genesis 1:31). This included man and does not 
agree with the story about the sins of Adam. This may be a poem or 
fable, for the writer does not believe God brought all children into the 
world bad, but good, as all good fathers do. But, like hens' eggs, if 
you keep people in a hot place too long they may become bad. 

HERETIC 

A heretic is a man who does his own thinking and uses all the 
intelligence and reason God has given him. If God gives a heretic 
a message for His children we know they will get it even if the heretic 
is nailed to the cross or killed by a so-called Christian mob. For 
the heretic is a man after God's own heart, not a pious fraud or an 
orthodox Christian, but a godly man, like many heroes of the ages, 
who tells his hearers the truth about the dogmas of the Church and 
has a conscience that will not allow him to preach what is not true 
or something he does not believe. The time will never come when 
the preachers will enjoy religious liberty and preach the truth, and 
the whole truth, in the churches until we have thousands of first- 
class funerals, and the people refuse to support Christian churches 
which are not godly and are against the best interests of the common 
people, who want to know the whole truth and have justice in this world. 

Christ in his day was what the orthodox call now a "heretic," 
because his teachings were different from those of his times. Heretics 



FUTURE RELIGION OF THE WORLD 173 

do not seek intercourse with dreamers, but they seek the truth, and 
when they have found it proclaim it to the world, even if they are 
liable to be burned at the stake. Generally those whom the Church 
calls heretics are men of wisdom and extraordinary intelligence, 
because doubt suggests investigation, which is the beginning of reason 
and wisdom. 

THE HEART 

There is no intelligence or reason in the heart any more than there 
is in the liver. It is one of the vital organs of the body. In less 
than every second it discharges blood from its cavities with a force 
equal to the lifting of a weight of about twelve pounds on the average. 
It never sleeps, but is always throbbing. With every contraction it 
forces blood into the arteries, this contraction being succeeded by an 
interval of rest. The statement in the Bible, ^^With the heart man 
believeth," is absurd. The reason is not in the machinery or the 
heart, which is a pump, but in the Maker who made it. 

GOOD HEALTH 

God has made good health contagious. If we wish to have good 
health we must associate with those who have it and we must breathe 
pure air, take exercise, rest, and sleep at regular hours, be careful as 
to what we eat and drink, and keep the body pure, clean, and well 
clothed according to the climate. We must refrain from violating the 
unchangeable laws of nature, which are always for our good and the 
banishment of disease. 

HEARSAY 

The priest said that the Pope said that the Scripture makers said 
that the ignorant fishermen said that some one else said that Christ 
said, '^Believe in the Lord Jesus Christ and be saved; beheve not and 
be damned.'' We should believe God's holy laws of nature, which 
cannot lie, and which we know are true, in preference to the Scripture 
makers who can and have lied. 

KEYS OF HEAVEN 

The power of the keys may open some of the doors in our earthly 
kingdom, but they cannot open the doors of God's heavenly kingdom 



174 THE BOOK OF TRUTH 

to let in murderers, thieves, and evildoers whom the ministers have 
pronounced absolved. God has no more respect for a minister, the 
Pope, or a saint than he has for us. That myth, purgatory, is only 
an imaginary place, where they put you in and take you out again^ 
How much money did you have when you went in? How much did 
you have when you came out again? God has never allowed any one 
in the flesh to enter heaven and then come back to this world to reveal 
the secrets of eternity. Those who have pretended to do so should 
have been put in the penitentiary or lunatic asylum. There are no 
thieves in heaven. Those who Jesus took with him, from later re- 
ports, never arrived, but were lost with the ungodly, and there is no 
need of keys among the righteous in the spiritual world. 

HERE AND HEREAFTER 

We must rely upon ourselves and our fellow-men to care for the 
body, which is of the earth earthy and in due time must return to 
mother earth, so the spirit, the immortal part of man, can be with 
God. This is far better for us when we are old and in feeble health, 
for with God there is no more pain, sorrow, troubles, or afflictions. 
God will do the things that are best for us and those things that we 
cannot do for ourselves. The only things we can do for God in this 
world are to feed, clothe, and care for His children and do the things 
for them which they are not able to do for themselves, so the world 
may be made better. 

DREAMERS 

God never speaks to His children when they are asleep any more 
than we do. We generally have sense enough to awaken people when 
we have a message to deliver. Then we know that they are not 
dreaming, but listening. We should not expect to get very reliable 
news from fortune-tellers or dreamers, for they are fakers. A Christian 
judge will not admit dreams as evidence in a court of justice, while 
he may believe the records in the Bible are true because he was taught 
to when he was a child. If Joseph had secured his news from some 
of Mary's neighbors, he might have had a different opinion of her. 
If the story is true, she had her weakness, but had a large heart and 
was a good mother, and God blessed her, and may He bless all others 



FUTURE RELIGION OF THE WORLD 175 

under like circumstances. Those who pretend to receive messages 
from God through angels and prophets are dreamers, but Mary knew 
that a reality was not a dream, and brought into the world that 
which had a right to come into the world, as all godly women should. 

THE DRONES 

In the fall of the year an old beekeeper invited the writer to see 
his honey bees, observe what they were doing, and have an interview 
with them. He said they could talk, and he would act as interpreter. 
I went along with him, and the first thing I observed was a large 
handful of dead bees on the ground, near the hives, and some of the 
bees were dragging out of the hive other bees which were about dead. 
So I asked him what those dead bees had done. He said that was 
what had caused the trouble; that they had done nothing. They 
were the priests, or what we call drones. They would not work or 
lay up honey for the winter, but were all the time preaching, "You 
must be born again,'' and "that the Lord would provide," so the 
bees that work were taking them out of the hive and giving the Lord 
a chance to provide for them. It may be hard upon the priests, but 
if they won't work they will have to go to a hot climate where there 
is no winter — then they will not have to lay in a winter's supply. 
Some of the priests, however, do a godly work among the poor and 
needy, as they should. 

MORMONISM 

If God had intended that men should be Mormons and each have 
sixty or even two wives, that would be the ratio of nature in creation. 
But inasmuch as that is not the case, we take it for granted that that 
is not God's intention, and it is just and right to abolish Mormonism 
among human beings and confine it to the barnyard, where it belongs. 

A little girl in Salt Lake City many years ago went to church and 
heard them read the Scriptures. Then she came home and told her 
mother that there were no marriages in heaven. She took it for 
granted that there was no one there except Mormons. She said to 
her mother that she was going to join the Mormon Church, for she 
wanted to go to heaven when she died. That is about the way some 



176 THE BOOK OF TRUTH 

people misunderstand the Bible. It is all things to all men who want 
to use it for a selfish object. 

^'Abijah waxed mighty, and married fourteen wives, and begat 
twenty and two sons, and sixteen daughters" (H Chronicles 13:21). 

This may be waxing mighty, but it is not decency or fit to be taught 
to children. Any book containing such a historical event should not 
be called the ^^ Word of God'^ or ^^Holy Bible." 

MORALITY 

It is not the highest standard of morality to bring children into the 
world in the same manner the Scriptures tell us that Jesus came. 
Neither is it moral to be taken out of this world in the same way 
they tell us Jesus was. God never established such a standard of 
morals. 

Are you foolish enough to believe that God put up a job on Jesus 
and had him cruelly killed by a mob? Was God an accessory to the 
crime and was the crucifixion of Christ to save the dust of the earth 
which was unborn? Do not be a fool, but be a man and denounce 
those who indirectly accuse God of being a murderer. 

SPOOKS 

Angels, spooks, ghosts, devils, and hell are unknown quantities and 
only exist in the minds of men, being supposed to make them good 
or bad, according to their environment. These names are properly 
classed with those such as Uncle Sam, John Bull, Santa Claus, and 
Rip Van Winkle. None of them are the real thing and should not be 
taken seriously. They are perfectly harmless and we should pay no 
attention to them, but trust in the God who made us so we may land 
upon the beautiful shore where many of our friends have gone before. 

MISSIONARIES 

It is bad judgment for people to give their money to foreign mis- 
sionaries to have godly people taught that which is not true in relation 
to Christianity when men, women, and children at home are suffering 
for want of food, clothing, and a clean, healthy place to sleep. We 
know that many of the missionaries are good men and believe every- 



FUTURE RELIGION OF THE WORLD 177 

thing they preach and many things they don't preach. Their in- 
structions and teachings from the time they were children have made 
them what they are, fooHsh enough to believe all the dogmas they have 
been taught. They cannot, however, expect that those of us who 
do not believe as they do will give our money to advance a cause we 
think is against reason and is a false hope to humanity. 

ROMAN CATHOLIC CHRISTIANITY 

If the Christian religion as taught and executed by the Catholic 
Church in the fourteenth, fifteenth, and sixteenth centuries did not 
make a hell on earth there is nothing in this world that ever did. 
It was not safe for a man of intelligence to do his own thinking, wher- 
ever he was, if the country was controlled by Catholic popery. If 
a man denied any of the dogmas of the chiurch he was liable to be 
butchered at any moment. If he accepted its doctrines he had to 
submit to being robbed to meet the extravagant expenses of the 
Church without protesting against it. Is it not strange and one of 
the greatest miracles that the Church of the Dark Ages should claim 
that it got all of its ungodliness from God, whom it never saw at 
any time? Its badness never came from God, but from the devil, 
and is devilish and imgodly, as well as monetary. Let us be godly 
and thank the rulers of the earth and those brave men who have 
done their best to abolish the ungodliness of the ages of the past, for 
as a result we are able to worship God according to our reason. Re- 
member, if the priests have no authority from God to grant us an 
indulgence and forgive our sins, their pardon is fraudulent. It is a 
case of the ^^fool and his money" have parted. No human pardon 
for sins committed against God can be of any value for the living 
or the dead. Such a pardon is an empty hope, a folly, and a scheme 
for getting your money. In the Catholic Church there is too much 
acting, pomp, and show at the very altar where they used to burn 
heretics during their services. It might be a good thing to have 
their services reproduced for a moving-picture show to please the 
children. God never requires of any one such performances as the 
Catholics give at the usual price of admission. 

The Roman Catholic Christians in the sixteenth century must 



178 THE BOOK OF TRUTH 

have taken their religion from the Old Testament, '^ Put away evil 
from among you/' killing Protestants and heretics they condemned, 
as evil, or from the New Testament, ^' Believe in the Lord Jesus Christ 
and be baptised; believe not and be damned.'' Are the Catholic 
Christians any more to blame for the slaughter of millions of people 
the Scriptures condemned in the days of ignorance than the book 
called the '^Word of God?" Let us have charity for all and hold 
fast to what is good in the Bible, but demolish that which is bad and 
for thousands of years in the past has been a curse to mankind. 

The Catholics claim they are the organ of the Holy Ghost. If so 
they are playing it for all it is worth, and should have had the devil 
scared out of everybody by this time. If the Pope and his church 
are always infallible and cannot err, why do they not continue burning 
those who do not agree with them, as they did in the sixteenth cen- 
tury? Is it because the governments of the world will not stand for 
such wicked crimes in the name of a man whom they call their God? 

The Church of Rome for ages taught the doctrine of persecution 
for differences in religious opinions, or at least sanctioned it, which is 
not godliness, but devilishness. If the Church is still governed by the 
Holy Ghost, the spirit of a dead man, we think it is about time it was 
governed by spirits in live bodies, so it will be progressive in godliness. 
The aims of many of the priests are the gratification of their appetites, 
wealth, and absolute authority for a selfish purpose imder the as- 
sumption of divine authority. They exercise these powers at the 
expense of their poor subjects, who are kept in submission by igno- 
rance and fear of being sent to hell and roasted forever. There is 
no doubt that millions of people saved their lives previous to the 
eighteenth century by accepting the Roman Catholic religion; if 
they had not they would have been roasted. 

Accept Romanism or Die 

In the sixteenth century, in France, the Protestant king of Navarre 
was cast into prison by Roman Catholic Christians and given three 
days to embrace the Catholic religion or be executed. 

That is the way the Catholics put their religion upon the market at 
that time. During seven days five thousand Protestants were murdered 



FUTURE RELIGION OF THE WORLD 179 

in the city of Paris by Catholics in the name of Christianity. In 
butchering Protestants, whom they called heretics, they claimed that 
they were doing God's service. History tells us that their doctrines 
have never changed. They are the same now that they were then. 
If this is true, let us thank God and the heretics that the Government 
of these United States is not under the control of Catholic Christian 
despots. We live in a land of religious liberty. May it remain so 
imtil time is no more! 

On the 9th of February, 1849, the Constituent Assembly of Rome 
decreed the deposition of the Pope from his temporal power and estab- 
lished the Roman Republic. The people rejoiced that the tyranny 
and oppression of popes, cardinals, and priests had come to an end; 
but they were disappointed by a neighboring government sending its 
armed forces, which crushed the spirit of Roman liberty. The Chris- 
tian religion was of poor quality previous to the days of Martin Luther 
and the establishment of the Protestant Church. Millions of people 
have accepted the Roman Catholic religion since the fifteenth century 
so they would not be put to death by the Catholic Christians; but 
since the days of Luther we have been gradually marching toward 
religious liberty with but few backward steps. 

PRIESTS 

When the priests have the power to cause the deaf to hear, the mute 
to speak, to open the eyes of the blind, and cure all manner of diseases, 
we shall believe them when they say they have the power to forgive sin, 
and not before. According to the Scriptures they have all of these 
powers or none of them. One third of the world supports the other 
two thirds. If justice and righteousness prevailed all of this burden 
would not be cast upon the industrious folk of the present generation. 
The priests cannot make anything so by teaching or preaching it. 
The best they can do is to make their subjects believe it, and they can 
make the faithful believe almost anything. If the priests are bad 
men they do not look it, for most of them have large hearts as well as 
large stomachs, and work their profession for what it is worth, just as 
the Protestant preachers do. 

When a priest receives money for the forgiveness of shame, robbery. 



i8o THE BOOK OF TRUTH 

murder, or other sins to quiet the conscience of a guilty person he is 
committing ungodly acts, and it would be better to refer such cases to 
God in prayer and not assure forgiveness until a sinner repents on his 
honor and promises to do better. This would deter evildoers from 
committing crimes in the future. Many of the priests use this strat- 
egy to make men better in the cases of the ignorant. It is no sin to do 
so. In such cases we should know the facts before we condemn them. 
There are just as many good men among the Roman Catholics and the 
Jews as among any class of people on the face of the earth. We 
should judge men as individuals and not as a race. Too much rum 
and too many priests are frequently the cause of poverty among some 
of God 's smartest people. We do not want to lead any of God 's children 
astray, only to make them good and show them the right way. 

The commodities or stock in trade of the priests are indulgences, 
prayers for the wicked, extreme unction, forgiveness of sin, and prayers 
for the sick, poor, needy, afflicted, and all mankind, dead or alive. 
Their stock is invisible and it costs them nothing and never runs 
out. It is called by some ^' hot air " and by others prayer. It is very 
soothing and comforting to those who can swallow it, but has no 
effect upon others. The Scriptures say, ^^ Whosoever 's sins ye remit 
they are remitted unto them; whosoever 's sins ye retain they are 
retained. " We do not care what the Scripture makers say, the priests 
have no such authority from God; when they assume it they are im- 
postors and are impersonating a Supreme Being. Their powers are 
limited to this world, as the powers of all human beings are. We 
have written many things that may make priests and preachers angry, 
but we trust they will make God glad. We have done it through 
love, to please our Heavenly Father above. 

Most of the priests are good men, while some are bad, but that is no 
reason why we should condemn all of them. Many have given their 
lives to make mankind better, and devoted most of their time to see 
that the sick, poor, and aflfiicted were fed, clothed, and cared for. We 
love them for the good they have done and not for the dogmas they 
preach. They are as much entitled to their belief as we are to ours. 
Let us have toleration, but also teach the truth as God has given us 
reason to understand it, so that we may be able to reach all of those in 



FUTURE RELIGION OF THE WORLD i8i 

authority in all the churches, that we may, if right, convince them of 
the truth as we understand it, or let them convince us of our error if 
we are wrong. Cardinals cannot make the Pope infallible, so they 
changed the meaning of the word and the Pope is pleased with their 
juggling. We know when a priest pardons a murderer it does not 
save his life in this world, and it will make no difference with him in the 
next. The priests have the power to retain all sins they have within 
their own body, and some of them do. Sometimes their sins are found 
out, which makes it unpleasant for the church, for then the Jonah 
must be thrown overboard to save the ship, or they send him to some 
other parish where he is not known. It may be hard on Jonah, but it 
is harder on the fish that swallows him. 

Many of the priests are useful and are doing good work in keeping 
their subjects godly, seeing that they are just and that they receive 
justice; also that they live a moral life, are industrious, have the 
necessities of life, are not living in idleness, and have political liberty; 
also that their children are educated, and are protected from un- 
necessary exposure and danger. 

An agent has no more authority than the principal. If Christ has 
no authority to forgive sins against God or man, neither have the 
priests, but he has the power to teach righteousness and do good. 
Priests have no authority from God to grant their subjects indulgences 
to do wrong of any kind. These pretensions are devilish and ungodly. 
Beware of these things or death may end all. 

No godly country will allow priests to remit the penalty for crimes 
committed in their nation. We do not think that God will in His 
kingdom, for He knows them much better than we do. When we 
violate the laws of nature we have to suffer the penalty. The priest 
has no power to help us out of it. He is like one of Mother Eddy's 
followers, willing to take our hard-earned money, soothe our con- 
science, and do the best he can for us, which is an easy way to make a 
living and make the majority of men poor carrying a priest upon their 
backs. 

Just imagine John Smith's spirit before the throne of God: John 
says: ^^Yes, I was while on earth a robber and a murderer. I was 
drunk most of the time, spent most of my money, on bad women, and 



i82 THE BOOK OF TRUTH 

left my poor old mother to starve or to be cared for by others. Just 
before I died I accepted Jesus' offer through the priests and I gave 
them five hundred dollars. They said that I had complied with 
all the requirements, so I supposed everything was all right.'' Then 
God spake, saying: ^^ John, they swindled you out of your money, and 
inasmuch as your badness is so much greater than your goodness I 
know thee not; depart from me." Poor John! A word to the wise is 
sufficient. Live righteously and you may expect righteousness in 
eternity. 

When a priest forbids the members of the church to read any 
particular book which tells about justice, righteousness, eternity, 
and the sins of the church, and then tries to suppress it, you may 
honestly come to the conclusion that there is something wrong with 
the church and it is not just what it should be. The Catholic Church 
tries to keep its members in subjection, ignorance, and superstition 
for a selfish object. It is time to be wise and open your eyes and read 
the teachings of all godly teachers, so that you will be an intelligent 
judge and be able to decide for yourself what things in this world will 
make a success of an honest business and bring joy and happiness 
to your family, and eternal happiness in the great hereafter. Pro- 
vide for your family first and let God provide for the lazy priest; but 
remember that the priest is worthy of his hire if he is righteous and 
earns it. 

PERSECUTIONS BY CATHOLICS 

Many such godly men as Jerome of Prague, John Wickliff, and 
John Huss were burned at the stake in the fourteenth, fifteenth, and 
sixteenth centuries by Roman Catholic Christians because they were 
what the latter called heretics. These men did not believe that a 
man born of woman was God. They exposed the vices and scandals 
of the prelates and priests who pretended to be the successors of 
St. Peter, but who were in reality murderers and adulterers and suc- 
cessors of the devil. The fate of these and other martyrs should be 
a warning to all mankind to abolish government by sectarians, and 
to see that it is never again re-established in the future. We predict 
that the time will come when Christianity as taught in the past by 
the Roman Church will be no more, and the godliness which comes 



FUTURE RELIGION OF THE WORLD 183 

from our Creator and Redeemer will take its place in the hearts of 
the people. 

In justice to the Catholic Christians at the present time we must 
not hold them accountable for the sins of Catholics committed hun- 
dreds of years ago; neither should we accuse them of being the suc- 
cessors of these vile, corrupt murderers. If, however, they want to 
claim such succession we will not quarrel with them about it, and 
we are willing to acknowledge that they are more godly and ChristHke 
than their predecessors. It is with love that we tell our friends of 
these things. We hope that the Catholic Church in the future will 
be more of a blessing to mankind than it ever has been heretofore, 
and may God bless the Catholics in all their good works for himaanity. 

PUNISHMENT 

If the spirit is separate and distinct from the body, which is the 
house in which the spirit Uves, is it just to punish the spirit in the 
next world for the sins of the body in this? The house cannot sin. 
Those who occupy it may sin in this world, but they cannot in the 
next. Man pimishes the body, which may be the cause of the sin. 
If that is just, how can our Creator be unjust and punish the spirit? 
We think a bad spirit is the cause of sin. When a man who is crazy 
dies his insanity is removed and the spirit is sane. No disease in 
this world affects the spirit in eternity. The body cannot suffer 
after its death. This should be a consolation to those who have 
heard the ministers preach hellfire and brimstone to those who do 
not swallow their dogmas. The priests have no power to retain the 
spirit after death. A word to the wise is sufficient in a case like this. 
Priests cannot punish the dead. If the spirit were to die with the 
body, death would end all. All the punishment there could be for a 
dead spirit would be eternal death. God has not revealed to man 
that there is any such thing as a dead spirit, so we shall have to wait 
for further revelation, which is likely to be after we depart from this 
world, for God's secrets do not belong to us. We all know there is 
a death of the body, according to God's laws of nature, and we do 
not have to read history to confirm it. Do not borrow trouble about 
the next world. When we leave this world our troubles will be over 



i84 THE BOOK OF TRUTH 

and we shall have eternal life or eternal death — God will be the 
judge. 

Fire will burn and poison will kill a godly man or a Christian as 
quickly as it will an ungodly man, all other things being equal. Na- 
ture is impartial. Make use of her as you should and she will bless 
you; abuse her and she will curse you. God has left it to us to choose 
the right way, obey the laws of nature and be blessed, or to choose the 
wrong way and suffer the consequences. God does not punish us in 
this world. Any punishment which is just we bring upon ourselves 
by disobeying the laws of nature or the country in which we live. No 
good earthly father will inflict upon his children everlasting punish- 
ment. Is not God as righteous as our earthly father? Priests have 
no authority to exact or remit a spiritual penalty while they are in 
the flesh and their subjects are in eternity. If they are able to pray 
spirits out of purgatory they should be able to pray bedbugs out of 
a boarding-house. 

^^He is not the God of the dead, but the God of the living" (Mark 
12:27). 

This makes it clear in the words of Scripture that there can be no 
punishment for a dead body. Man has pow^r on earth to punish 
man while in the body, but not after he is dead. God is the only 
one who can punish the spirit, the immortal part of man. Therefore 
do not be afraid of the priests or the hell-and-brimstone preachers, 
for they can do you no harm. God does not allow the priest to be 
the judge of His children and His kingdom. 

TORTURE 

It is cruel to torture any living creature. When humane societies 
kill homeless dogs and cats they never torture them. Just before 
the execution of a murderer he should be allowed to take ether or 
chloroform if he wishes, so that he will not be tortured. 

It is time that the torturing of human beings was stopped, for it 
is one of the worst kinds of ungodliness and a disgrace to the state 
that allows it. There is no doubt in my mind that the Bible is in- 
directly accountable for it. 

We are willing to call the Bible by its name, Holy Bible, although 



FUTURE RELIGION OF THE WORLD 185 

this is a misnomer; but we are not willing to take everything in it 
to be holy or the Word of God. 

We say this as a dying man to dying men, and trust it will make 
the world better and more godlike. 

BURNED AT THE STAKE 

God will never punish a man for not believing that which he thinks 
is not true. It was the Christians who builded dungeons, made 
instruments of torture, and, driving a stake, made a fire and said to 
the world: ^^ Believe in this man Christ and be saved; believe not and be 
damned. Be quick about it or we will burn you at the stake. " They 
burned millions of godly people to death because they did not believe 
in Christ or that he was their God and Redeemer. 

LAWS OE MARYLAND, U. S. A. 

The following law of Maryland was passed on the 2d of April, 1649: 

''Any person or persons whatsoever that shall deny our Saviour, 
Jesus Christ, to be the Son of God, or shall deny the Holy Trinity, the 
Father, Son, and Holy Ghost, or the Godhead of any of the three 
persons of the Holy Trinity or the Unity of the Godhead, or shall use 
any reproachful words, speeches, or language concerning the Holy 
Trinity or any of the three said Persons thereof, shall be punished 
with death, and confiscation or forfeiture of all his or her land and 
goods to the Lord Proprietor and His heirs. '' 

At the time this law was enacted the state was controlled by what 
we now call the Protestant Christians, who pretended to believe in 
religious liberty and freedom of conscience. The next year the Roman 
Catholics were the only ones who objected to the principles of 
this act, which was one of the most godly stands taken by any 
Christian Church at that time. The history of the world tells us of 
the cruelties, murders, and bloodshed by ungodly Christians in the 
Dark Ages, and they were not all Roman Catholics who committed 
these crimes. 

We feel like thanking God that most of those days are past, and sec- 
tarian rule is abolished in the nation. We hope the time will come in 
all the world when all men will worship the God of Creation, who was 



i86 THE BOOK OF TRUTH 

before the worlds were, and that the religion of the future will not be 
one of statutory provisions. 

QUEEN MARY 

Queen Mary reigned in England five years from the 17th of July, 
1553. During the last four years of her reign about three hundred 
persons were burned alive by her orders for the crime of heresy. The 
Christian Catholic Church was responsible for these murders. Among 
those who suffered death in this way were such venerable martyrs as 
Rogers, Saunders, Hooper, Taylor, Bradford, Philpot, Latimer, and 
Cramer, who were all godly men whose blood was shed as a sacrifice 
upon the altar of popish bigotry during the reign of Bloody Mary. 
Thus the world may know that Roman Catholic Christianity, the only 
kind that was well known at that time, is a curse to any community, 
and no substitute for the godliness which comes from God our Heav- 
enly Father and Creator. 

MURDERERS 

God never had pleasure in the wickedness and murders committed 
by the Jews or ever gave a command to one tribe to kill all the men, 
women, and children of another. Those who did it were murderers, 
and the Scripture writers who said God was responsible were liars and 
ungodly men. Those who believe it are ignorant men and do not 
know the attributes of their Creator. The Jews thought that God was 
with them when they were at war with their neighbors. If they were 
defeated they thought that some of their army had stolen chickens the 
night before or had sinned in some other way. 

The book of Genesis says, ^^ Fathers may sell their daughters. " *^The 
slavery of women is righteous." ^^The father shall kill his wife and 
daughter if they try to persuade him to serve other Gods." Such 
teachings as these are ungodly and devilish. 

murderers' faith 

When we read in the daily papers that most of those who are electro- 
cuted for murder are members of the same sectarian church or are of 
that faith we naturally think there must be something wrong in the 



FUTURE RELIGION OF THE WORLD 187 

church's teachings or there is special inducement to those who are 
willing to belong to this church and take their chances of having 
eternal life. The devil offered Christ all the kingdoms of this world if 
he would be one of his disciples and worship him. No others on earth 
were able to make any better offer, but Christ considered the devil 
was not a responsible party and rejected it. Go thou and do likewise. 
Trust in the God who made you; repent and ask His forgiveness, and 
let your dying words be to the living to be just, righteous, and do no 
murder, but love God and keep His holy laws of the universe. 

SAVONAROLA 

Savonarola from 1452 to 1498 preached against the corruptions of 
the Roman Catholic Christian Church. The ungodly and infamous 
Pope Alexander VI, one of the ^^ infallible'' Popes, excommunicated 
him, and on May 30, 1498, he was hanged and burned by orthodox 
Catholic Christians because he exposed their crimes and ungodliness. 
In 1510 the sales of indulgences and corruption in the Catholic Church 
as exposed by the martyr Savonarola were confirmed by Martin Luther 
and others who knew the charges to be true. 

From this kind of Christianity, which is the original apostolic suc- 
cession, good Lord, deliver us! 

RELIGIOUS PERSECUTION 

In the sixteenth century Protestants in France perished on the scaf- 
fold, in their homes, and in the streets for the so-called crime of not 
being a Catholic Christian. In 1529 Louis Berguin of Artois was 
burned alive in the Palace de Greve for preaching against the doctrines 
of the Roman Church. In 1562 and 1563 the Catholics tried to drive 
the Protestants out of France. The Huguenots from 1685 to 1790 
were not allowed the rights of conscience, liberty, or equality by Cath- 
olic Christians. 

History says that after the massacre on St. Bartholomew's day the 
Catholic priests assured the people that the murder of heretics was 
lawful in the eyes of man and acceptable in the sight of God; that it 
was sinful to show them mercy and that their extermination was the 
surest passport to salvation. This is a fair specimen of orthodox 



i88 THE BOOK OF TRUTH 

Roman Catholic Christianity in France at that time, when they called 
all Protestants heretics. 

DESPOTIC RELIGION 

Vain, despotic monarchs generally have a religion of their own, 
and have priests to preach it so as to make slaves of their subjects 
and keep them in fear of God and in subjection. When these rulers 
make wicked laws they blame God for it, and say unto the people, 
^^Thus saith the Lord'' or ^^God spake these words, saying." Our 
ministers use these same sayings so that we will believe them, although 
they oftentimes realize themselves that they are not speaking the 
truth. Good rulers will have no trouble in governing good people if 
they set a good example, if in their daily life they are righteous with- 
out any particular brand of religion, provided it is godly. There is 
little doubt that Christianity as Jesus taught it is righteousness, but 
as the Scripture makers have written it and the ministers of the 
orthodox church preach it it is a fraud and an imposition upon the 
people. 

BUTCHERY 

Since the days of Jesus up to the present time the Christians have 
been directly or indirectly the cause of putting to death about one 
hundred million people. The Christians did this through ignorance 
and because they took the Bible to be the Word of God, interpreting 
literally such passages as these in the Bible: ^'But those mine 
enemies, which would not that I should reign over them, bring hither, 
and slay them before me" (Luke 19:27). ^^Thou shalt not permit a 
witch to live!" ^^Believe in the Lord Jesus Christ and be saved. Believe 
not and be damned." Any book containing such things as these and 
many others of like tenor to be found in the Bible is an ungodly book. 
The mere fact that there are some good teachings in this book will not 
make it righteous. There is some goodness in robbers and murderers, 
but that does not make them godly while they have murder in their 

hearts. 

ST. Bartholomew's slaughter 

On the morning of St. Bartholomew's Day, August 24, 1572, at 
2 o'clock, the bell of the Roman Catholic Church gave the signal 



FUTURE RELIGION OF THE WORLD 189 

for the murder of the Calvinist victims. Wherever they could be 
found they were struck down, shot, sabered, or drowned by the Roman 
Catholic Christians. The King and Prince owed their safety only 
to their titles and their promise to be ever faithful to the Roman 
Catholic religion. This promise was extorted through fear of being 
murdered. One of the cardinals of this Catholic Church tells us it 
has never changed its dogmas, their faith now is the same as it was 
then; so the quality of their religion must still be bad and very sad 
for a nation whose God is the Lord. 

Can we blame men for accepting the Christian Catholic religion 
when their only choice is to do so or be murdered in the most wicked 
manner in the name of the only Apostolic Christian Church founded 
by Christ, their only God? 

LOUIS XIV OF FRANCE 

It is estimated that during the reign of Louis XIV of France, who 
died in 17 14, there were over three hundred thousand Protestants 
slaughtered because they would not accept the Roman Catholic faith. 

All these butchers were Roman Catholic Christians in good stand- 
ing in the church. If these torturers and murderers were in good 
standing, the devil himself could not have been in bad standing with 
that ungodly society at that time. We should thank God for the 
millions of godly men in the Roman Catholic Church now, and may 
their numbers increase, and may Christ's God be their God. 

CATHOLIC CHURCH DOGMAS 

In the sixteenth century one of the doctrines of the Catholic Church 
was that if any man should teach or believe anything different from 
what it taught he should be accursed. That was the kind of brotherly 
love and toleration these Catholics had for their neighbors. They 
now believe in the resurrection of the dead and hold that there is a 
purgatory where souls are detained. They affirm that the power of 
granting indulgences was given by Christ to the Church and that the 
use of it is most wholesome to Christian people. Catholics maintain 
that theirs is the only true faith without which none can be saved. 
If this is not bigotry I do not know what is. If there were none but 



190 THE BOOK OF TRUTH 

Roman Catholics in heaven it would be a hell to Protestants, Jews, 
and all others outside of that church. I have heard some of the 
great men lecture who are called by the church heretics, and I was 
made to feel that I would like to be a heretic myself. 

The Roman Catholic Church is just as much a Christian Church 
now as the Protestant churches are. It is an outrage to call the 
Catholic Church anti-Christian. During the first fifteen hundred 
years after the death of Christ it was practically the only Christian 
Church on the face of the earth. We do not think the Romanist 
Church of the sixteenth century was a godly church, if the history 
of the past is true; but we must remember people were not as wise 
then as they are now, and that the nations and kingdoms of the world 
will not allow sectarians to butcher one another now as they used to 
do in the past — but most of them are still allowed to raise money to 
support the Church in an ungodly way without interference. The 
Jews, Unitarians, Chinese, Quakers, and nearly all the nations of the 
world are godly people, but they do not all believe Christ is God or 
that the Pope of Rome in the seventeenth century was of higher 
authority than the King of England, as the former claimed at that 
time when he tried to rule England. 

The priests, ministers, and all others in authority in the churches 
hold fast to their sectarian creeds and call heretics all those who have 
a message from God which differs from their articles of faith. Some 
of these so-called heretics have been expelled from the Church, others 
have been persecuted so as to keep them from educating the common 
people in the ways of reason, justice, and righteousness; and simply 
because the priests want to protect their business, for they fear that 
their means of procuring a living might vanish if their dogmas were 
abolished. We should hold fast to all the teachings of Christ and 
of all others when they are just and righteous, but those which are 
unjust and not true should be condemned. Christ could not have 
given his life for the sins of the world and of billions of those unborn. 
His life was not given, it was taken, just as now when the authorities 
electrocute a man for a violation of the law. A man cannot be sub- 
stituted for millions who are unborn, for they need no substitute. To 
think otherwise is contrary to reason and common sense. 



FUTURE RELIGION OF THE WORLD 191 

Why should not all the members of the Catholic Church think alike 
when the Pope and his advisers do all the thinking in regard to the dog- 
mas of the church for them? How could it be otherwise? But when 
some of their members, like Martin Luther, do their own thinking, the 
trouble in the Church commences, and he is called a heretic because he 
exposed the sinfulness and ungodliness of selling indulgences and teach- 
ing things which were not true, and of using Christianity as a lucrative 
business. 

ROMAN CATHOLIC MARTYRS 

During the first three centuries men were put to death because 
they were Christians and would not worship heathen idols. When we 
accuse the Roman Church of worshipping idols we must remember 
these men who were put to death in such a terrible manner were 
Catholics who believed that Christ was God, and that he came to life 
after his death, walked out of the tomb, talked with his friends, and 
went to heaven alive in the body. These Catholics thought that 
they would do the same; they believed that if they denied Christ 
they would go to hell. But alas! it was only a delusion and a false 
expectation that never materialized. Christ taught the world to 
know God, but it was his or the Church's mistake to claim that he 
was God. If Jesus is God, then Mary must have been God's mother, 
and that wicked Joseph who had murder in his heart must have been 
God's father, because Mary was a virtuous woman. 

CATHOLICS AND JEWS 

The orthodox Jews and Roman Catholics are not progressive. 
They hold fast to the old dogmas of the Dark Ages of ignorance and 
superstition. In many cases they do not accept God's revealed truth 
unless it is eighteen hundred years old. They act like people who 
think that God has not been able to speak to His children for the last 
fifteen hundred years and correct their errors of the past; that He 
has lost his voice, hearing, and reason on account of old age. 

PRIESTS AND PRAYERS 

Many of the priests are perpetual beggars for God to give them 
special dispensations to fill orders. They have already taken the 



192 THE BOOK OF TRUTH , 

cash in advance, and want Him to deliver the goods. Yet we are 
not aware that He fills all orders taken by priests, and runs a free 
delivery for that purpose. They preach that the Lord will provide; 
and some of their lazy, shiftless hearers are perfectly willing that He 
should. It is not God's way that we should get our living by prayer, 
but by work, by the sweat of the brow. The preachers should do 
less praying and more to comfort the sick. We should just as will- 
ingly ask a minister every time he called to see us to saw wood as to 
pray, for the exercise with the saw would do him more good and 
help us just as much, if not more. 

We should be kind to the priests, rabbis, and ministers. Many of 
them are doing a good work among the sick, the poor, and the needy, 
and should be encouraged. It is well for the priests to pray to God 
to be gracious unto the sick ones and to prosper the means made use 
of for recovery. 

THE POPE 

If the Pope is infallible and cannot sin, it is no virtue for him not 
to sin; but the man who can and will not is more godly and righteous. 

The Pope's decisions in regard to matters pertaining to faith in the 
Catholic Church are final. The government of this Church is oligarchi- 
cal. No society has a monopoly of godliness, for God is impartial. 
They may have a monopoly of devilishness, for the devil is partial. 

If any one prays to God every day to forgive his sins he must be a 
perpetual old sinner or his prayers are useless. A Cardinal is made 
a Pope by a majority vote, so God cannot have much to do with it. 

No man is incapable of error or exempt from uncertainty. If the 
Pope's decisions on faith and morals are final with the Catholic 
Church, let the Church state this. It is absurd to claim that such 
decisions are infallible. 

PURGATORY 

St. Paul says, "At death we do not go down into hades, but up to 
God." The writer was told of a rich Catholic who died and whose 
son paid the priest five hundred dollars to pray his father out of 
hades. In a few months the priest came back and wanted five hundred 
dollars more and said he had no assurance thus far that the father 
was not still there. The son said to the priest to "go to hell and lay 



FUTURE RELIGION OF THE WORLD 193 

hold of my father and pull him out.'' Let us hope that this is only 
a story, and that there is no such place as hell or purgatory. Some- 
times, however, stories reveal great truths. Purgatory and hell are 
said to be between this world and heaven. The Roman Catholics 
kidnap spirits and hold them up until the Church gets a rake-off from 
the estate which is left to the family of the departed one. The body 
needs no medicine or prayers from the priest after it is dead; but the 
priest may need the money. He would find it a bad job to purify a 
dead carcass after the spirit has left it; but he has an easy way of 
doing it by absent treatment. 

To teach and preach the doctrine of purgatory to their subjects, 
and then take their money to pray the dead out of it is a swindle. 
Money willed to the priests for such a cause should be made void by 
statutory provisions. It is right for a priest to place his left hand 
on the head of a dying man and bless him, but it is wrong at the same 
time to put his right hand in the man's pocket and rob him. The 
priests may not rob a man while he is alive, but after he is dead some 
of them rob his widow and children of his estate by taking money 
to pray him out of purgatory. In some cases it would be a very 
hard job and well worth the price. Prayer is not efhcient enough to 
save that which is lost, and that which is saved needs no prayer. 
The merits of Christ may save him, but they will not save others. 
We have to give an account of ourselves to God, who does not dump 
the spirits of dead men in a hole called purgatory so the priests can 
make money by praying them out. There is no intermediate state 
between death and eternity. Cleansing souls after they have left 
this world in a place called purgatory is like doing washing in heaven 
by electricity. It is a devil's way of getting a living without working. 
Some of the Christians teach that those who die without accepting 
Christ go direct to hell and are tortured. Others are kind enough to 
provide a purgatory for our escape, and offer their services to pray 
us out if our friends will furnish the money to pay the bill. 

TOLERATION 

Historians estimate that over nine millions of people have been 
murdered in the name of Christianity on account of the lack of the 



194 THE BOOK OF TRUTH 

spirit of toleration, and millions more by ungodly Christians for other 
causes which were caused by the dogmas of the Christian Church. 

In the first and second century, in many places, if a man was known 
to be a Christian he was murdered. Then the times changed and 
under Christian rule if a man was not a Christian he was murdered 
or burned at the stake. 

Godliness is righteousness and is always of the same quality and 
will last until time shall be no more. Christianity is of a different 
quality, and in due time godliness will take its place, for that which 
comes from man is no substitute for that which comes from God our 
Creator and Redeemer. 

HELL 

If you get kicked by an ass, a priest, or a sectarian, do not be 
seriously offended, but consider from whence it came. When they 
say that if your baby is not baptized he will go to hell, or if your sins 
are not forgiven that you will go to the same place, fear not, for they 
are not giving you a message from God, but one from the Dark Ages. 
Do not be foolish enough to believe that your Heavenly Father will 
make a hell for His children and then cast them into it so as to pro- 
vide a job for the priests to pray them out. Worldly hells and places 
of destruction are never full. There is always room for more victims. 
Whosoever keepeth away from them is a wise son, and should also 
shun those who frequent them. 

When the temperature is forty degrees below zero we must not 
find fault with a good man for stopping at a hades to get warm. Why 
not use a bad place, if it is comfortable, to thaw ourselves out and 
save our lives or those who may be suffering with us. The saloon- 
keepers furnish more free lunches, according to their numbers, than 
the Christian Church members, it is said, and many of us know this 
to be true. 

TEMPORAL POWER 

According to the Scriptures Jesus Christ teaches that his kingdom is 
not of this world. Why should the Christian Church receive power 
from the people or nation over things not spiritual and not appertain- 
ing to spiritual salvation, but only temporal and civil. 

Whenever the Roman Catholic Christian Church has had temporal 



FUTURE RELIGION OF THE WORLD 195 

power it has generally abused it, and in some cases has butchered 
millions of Protestants, burning many to death, because these Protes- 
tants would not accept its faith. Is this to the glory of the only true 
Christian Church for fifteen hundred years after the death of Christ? 
No, the Church was the curse of the world, murdering godly men, 
women, and children. 

If this is the original and true Christianity, for God's sake and the 
sake of all mankind and the billions of the unborn, abolish it and re- 
establish the Church of the only God, our Redeemer, and the Creator 
of all the worlds, who was before the world was. 

IMAGES 

Why should we want images in the churches if we do not worship 
images? God our Creator has never furnished His image to the 
world for His children to worship. His creatures are unable to make 
an image of Him. If there is no love in the image, how then can there 
be any Godly love in those who worship it? God's children do not 
need any image of Him as a reminder of His love for us and our love for 
Him. The same God who created us created the ape, cows, and goats, 
which have just as much right to claim that they are in the image of God 
as we have. We are created in the image of man and should be satisfied. 
If man is in the image of God, when we worship man we worship an 
image. It is impossible for man while in the flesh to be in the image of 
God who is a spirit. The priests are like the image makers — opposed 
to any teachings which will destroy their business. They can stay where 
they are if they still preach to men, but work for God and worship Him. 

Knowledge which is in the head is just as much a part of the man as 
any other part of the body, and it is the most important part of the man 
of intelligence, soul, and body, which are one while in the body. What 
it is after the death of the body has never fully been revealed to the 
living. We have to leave this body of ours before we can enter the 
spiritual world. We cannot make a likeness of a spirit or of God. 
The image of Christ which some worship is only a likeness of a dead 
man. The different images made of him do not all look alike. One 
hundred and fifty pounds of matter is not enough to make a real God. 
It is man who has created a God in his image and wants all others to 



196 THE BOOK OF TRUTH 

worship it. If saint and relic worship is not worshipping idols it is 
the next thing to it. If we are godly we need no relics or images to 
remind us of God. 

In about the eighth century Leo decreed that all images should be 
taken down or coated over with plaster; but now they are plastered 
over with gold. The reformers of the sixteenth century in Germany, 
Holland, and the British Isles demolished images because the Catholic 
people bowed to them, and to all appearance worshipped them the 
same as they did God. When they uncover the head, kneel, and bow 
to the image, the honor and veneration is practically given to the image. 
If they tell the truth when they say they do not worship images they 
should abolish them and be able to worship the saints, Christ and God, 
without images. Godly people do not need to see a golden calf or an 
image to be reminded of God. Their Creator, God, may judge igno- 
rant folk according to their intention, but they should not blame men 
for judging them according to their actions. If the Catholics can make 
their people more righteous by the use of images we should say, ^'May 
God bless them in their good work.'' 

If we look upon an idol or image as a god endowed with intelligence 
and the attributes of the Deity we are idolaters or image worshippers, 
for there is no such thing as a holy image. It has no intelligence or 
power to help us. The image of Jesus, gods of wood, stone, or the 
golden calf are all in the same category. There is no godliness in the 
worship of an image. Nothing made by man should be worshipped as 
God. After we have bowed the knee and head to several idols and 
received no salute in return, we should give up the business and leave 
it to fools and children. 

FALSE TEACHINGS 

The priests persuaded the Egyptians to erect pyramids at an im- 
mense expense, and they were used as tombs for their favorite dead. 
These priests taught the people that at the expiration of a thousand 
years the soul would return to the body and the dead would come 
forth and walk out of the grave alive and live forever. Strange and 
ridiculous as it is, the fools believed it as they do now when the priests 
put on a long, sober face and use their prayerful voice for all it is worth, 



FUTURE RELIGION OF THE WORLD 197 

and preach: '^AU our dead are coming to life again at the great 
Judgment Day, and all those who were good will get their old jobs 
back shoveling coal, making ice, raising turnips, beets, cabbages, or 
making rum, or whatever their occupation was before!" 

We have in our museimis Egyptian mimimies more than four thou- 
sand years old and they are as dead as ever. These people believed in 
the eternal God, but had very remote ideas about eternity or the 
future state except what the priests taught them, and they didn'tknow 
even that. The priests are more accommodating now than they were 
in olden times, for they only keep the spirits of the dead in hades 
long enough to get the lion's share of their wealth, which the dead 
could not take with them. It is the same now as ever; weak-minded 
and superstitious persons are a feast for the priests. We are be- 
lievers in religious liberty, but not in allowing religious frauds to 
swindle others in the name of religion, which is ungodly. The force of 
habit is powerful, so also is the effect of the instruction given us when 
we were young. We should guard against it by doing our own think- 
ing and using our reason to the best of our ability when we read the 
newspapers so as not to be misled. 

We cannot expect the priests or preachers who are teaching a false 
doctrine and making an easy living by doing so to abandon it and to 
preach the truth, or allow any of the members of their society to do so 
if they can prevent it. This would ruin their business. 

We, who are the humanitarians and are willing to enlighten God's 
children and make the world better by teaching the truth and the laws 
of nature, should not shrink from doing so, let it strike whom it may, 
for this is God 's only way. The priests proclaim that our sins are for- 
given because we desire it and are willing to pay the price, and by so 
doing they get something for nothing. It makes a guilty one feel so 
much better amid real pain and suffering of the body and conscience, 
and is a relief to the mind of the victim who thinks that he has made 
everything right with God; but when he finds it to be a fraud, what 
will he say to God? 

FORGIVENESS OF SIN 

Let us go back to the original landmark and see where the priests 
received the power to forgive or retain the sins of the world. They 



iqs the book of truth 

claim it was handed down to them by their forefathers who received 
it from a man born of woman nineteen hundred years ago whose 
name was Jesus. The Scriptures say this man was unlettered. That 
must have been the reason he gave them no written authority, so 
they took it from the Scripture makers. This man Jesus was crucified. 
If he had lived in modern times he would have been electrocuted or 
hanged for violating the laws of his country. While he was alive he 
said that he would lie in the bowels of the earth three days; but 
the resurrectionists took him out after one day and two nights, which 
was not his fault, for he was dead and could not help himself. The 
Jewish nation claims that it has been handed down to them from 
generation to generation by word of mouth that the Scripture ac- 
count of Christ's birth, resurrection, and ascension is not true. The 
Jews say Christ looked like a man and was nothing but a man. The 
Scriptures say that Christ gave the priests the power to open the 
eyes of the blind, to cause the deaf to hear, the dumb to speak, to 
forgive or retain sin, and heal all manner of diseases. These are 
powers that neither he nor any living man ever had. We know that 
the priests have never been able to use all of these powers, which is 
conclusive evidence that they have none of them. The doctors are 
having better success than the priests did when they tpied to cure 
physical ills and abandoned it. Mother Eddy and her followers 
have made millions of dollars by claiming all the cures of nature, and 
letting the sick and afflicted die without medical aid. The Christian 
Science healers are firm believers that it pays to be a Christian. 

The day will come when it will not pay to be an ungodly Christian. 
The earthly authorities will see that the lives of the sick and afflicted 
are saved and that the hungry are fed. Those who are in danger of 
drowning, or trapped in a burning building, and in danger of being 
burned to death, will be rescued by the noble heroes who still live and 
are willing to risk their lives to save the lives of others. Murder is 
murder and crime is crime even if it is claimed by those who commit 
it that it was done in the name of the devil or Christianity. Jesus 
asked God to forgive those who crucified him before they repented, 
so we should suppose that if Christ had power to forgive sin he would 
do so even if sinners never repented. Pretending to forgive sins for 



FUTURE RELIGION OF THE WORLD 199 

money is just as bad as telling fortunes for money. When a poor 
Catholic girl gives twenty-five cents for having her fortune told, 
then confesses it to the priest and he takes fifty cents to make it 
right with God, the first is a swindler and the other is a greater robber, 
for he gets double the amoimt; but his advice is worth the price in 
some cases. 

If a sinner owes a debt to God or any one else the priest has no 
right to take the cash and forgive the debt. Neither God nor man 
will permit such things. The priest has only power to forgive sin 
against him and not against others. Martin Luther denied the 
power of the Pope to remove the guilt of sin, and argued that the 
obtaining of grace was a matter between God and the soul. Pope 
Leo X claimed and assumed full power of releasing sinners from pun- 
ishment. If he could have done it he might have been the saviour of 
thieves, robbers, and murderers, but godly people have no use for 
such a saviour in this world or the next. It is presumption for a 
priest who is nothing but a man to assume the authority of a supreme 
being and retain or forgive sin, grant indulgences, and pray wicked 
people out of purgatory for money. It is impersonating God. To 
pray to God to forgive our sins and to thank Him for His daily bless- 
ings is charity and righteousness. 

^^ Forgive us our trespasses'' should be our prayer to God and not 
to Jesus, the priest, or any one else, for they have no authority from 
God to forgive sins against Him or His children. Do you think that 
the priests can pardon the murderer, robber, or perjurer at will for 
money when they pretend to do it? It is more likely to be the case 
that the flock has been fleeced than that their sins are forgiven. All 
persons have the right to forgive those who sin against them, but we 
should leave it to God to forgive the sins of the world. God cannot 
trust priests with the power to retain or forgive sins against Him or 
His children, for they are human and partial, and would use such 
power to court favors and make money. No one but He who knows 
all things from the beginning to the end is competent to forgive or 
retain sins against our Heavenly Father or His children. 

We are to obtain forgiveness after the death of Jesus the same as 
the people did before he was born, from God our Heavenly Father. 



200 THE BOOK OF TRUTH 

Jesus cannot confer a power to others which he never had and which 
belongs to God. If the priest forgives your sins, pay the debt by 
forgiving his — even exchange is no robbery. The true way is to 
right your wrongs when you are able to do so. If not able, then ask 
God in secret to do so, and be just and righteous in the future. 

FISH FRIDAYS 

It is no worse to eat meat on Friday than on any other day of the 
week; if it is wrong on Fridays it is wrong on all days. That kind of 
religion could not be stuffed down the throat of a dog. It is not 
godliness or common sense. We do not care what is the custom of the 
Jews or what the priests say. It is not good to eat too much meat; 
but this has nothing to do with the immortal part of man, if there is 
any such thing, but only with the body. 

Christ's apostles fished with a net and caught many different kinds 
of fish. His priests are still at it, but some of them are not fishing 
for the sake of the fish but for their own sake, and live on the fish, 
saying it is God's wish. 

SUCCESSORS 

The priests depend on the apostolic commission received by them 
indirectly from Christ through it being transmitted to them by their 
predecessors. When they ordain a successor in the Apostolic Church 
they pat him on the back, then put their hand upon his head, turn 
on the electric current, and he receives the shock and all of the intel- 
ligence which has been transmitted from Christ and the predecessors. 
Then he is ready for business. This is done in the same way in which 
a wise man when he dies leaves his brains and intelligence to his son. 
We know that when an apostle dies he cannot transmit his knowledge, 
intelligence, or goodness to another, for they are not transferable. 
By a vote or appointment some one is selected to fill his place. 

INFIDELS 

The dogmas of the church such as those pertaining to purgatory, 
the priests forgiving sin against God (for money), Jesus being God, 
the Trinity, the birth, resurrection, and ascension of Christ are enough 
to fill the world full of infidels. If the church waited until the 



FUTURE RELIGION OF THE WORLD 201 

children became men and women their ungodly teaching would never 
be acceptable, neither would they submit to the priesthood. The 
time will come when all will know God, from the least to the greatest, 
and the worship of men, idols, and things will be no more. Then the 
glory of men will be the glory of God our Creator and Redeemer. 

It is easy to prove from the Bible that Jesus is not God and nothing 
but a dead man; yet his spirit still lives. The Bible is no more in- 
spired than some parts of the book you are reading. This is left to 
our readers without extra comment. No man who believes in God 
should be called a heretic or an infidel. 

INFALLIBLE 

Christ was not infallible. If he had been he would not have ap- 
pointed Judas as one of his apostles. The fact that Jesus did select 
him indicates that Christ was nothing but a man and not God, for God 
does not make mistakes. If the Pope is infallible he must have been 
made so by his election. The popes who allowed their followers in the 
sixteenth century to slaughter and burn to death those who would not 
accept their faith could not have been infallible or even godly, so the 
apostolic succession must have come through an ungodly source before 
it reached the Church of the present generation. Pure water which 
has come through the sewer to reach us will not remain pure. If the 
Pope is the only infallible man he must be a monstrosity. All men are 
at liberty to sin. God allows us to choose good or evil, and to also preach 
goodness, justice, and righteousness without special authority of any 
church. He does not require us to belong to any of the church trade 
unions. 

1 It took the Catholic Church eighteen hundred years to find out 
that their popes were infallible, but there is no doubt in our minds 
that it was death made them so. God is never angry with his children ; 
if He was He would not be infallible. The Roman Catholic Christians 
are just about as infallible as the house of correction. They take 
every person who comes along, money or no money, and try to make 
him righteous, which is more than any of the Protestant Churches do 
in this country. The Pope 's infallibility means in some cases minority 
rule. He claims by virtue of the promises of a man known as Jesus 



202 THE BOOK OF TRUTH 

that he is preserved from error of judgment when he makes a 
decision on the faith or the morals of the members of the Roman 
Church. 

If this is true it indicates that Jesus or the popes are not infaUible, 
for many of their decisions have been ungodly and caused murder 
and robbery. 

MARTIN LUTHER 

Martin Luther while still a Roman Catholic said: ^^ Those who 
fancy themselves sure of their salvation by indulgences will go to the 
devil with those who teach them. '' This doctrine, the hope of being 
saved by indulgences, is to rely on lies and vanity. For this and other 
sayings Luther was called a heretic and a traitor. Luther made war 
against indulgences, which were a branch of commerce with Rome. 
The Church brokers traded them for other wares and merchandise, 
when they could not sell them for cash. These indulgences were 
known by many as paper currency. A man named Telzer, who was 
selling indulgences, said to the people: ^^I have letters duly sealed; 
whatever sins you shall hereafter desire to commit shall be all for- 
given you"; and he was peddling them in the streets. The Catholic 
legations of Rome made an application to Frederick to have Luther 
delivered up to them so they could burn him at the stake, but he re- 
fused and saved Luther's life from the vicious devils. 

Catholic history says that Luther 's blasphemy was widely repeated, 
his insults loudly applauded, and that there were many who decided 
with Luther in his quarrels. This indicates that he made it hot for 
those who were ungodly in the Church. It was the invention of gun- 
powder and firearms which changed the mode of warfare, furnished 
the truth and soldiers who protected Martin Luther, and was the 
means of freedom of individual independence. This gave the world 
Protestantism to protect mankind against the Roman Catholic butch- 
ery of those who dared speak against any of the dogmas of the Catholic 
Church. 

When Luther reproved the Church for taking money for indul- 
gences, he spoiled their traffic in them and stopped the flow of money 
in the treasury of the Church which the priests needed to live in luxury 
and idleness. They still remained in their sins and pretended to for- 



FUTURE RELIGION OF THE WORLD 203 

give the sins of others whenever anybody had the money and was will- 
ing to pay them for it. 

Martin Luther's last words before he died were, ^^ Glory to God! 
The Pope is the prince of the accursed Church, the vicar of satan, the 
enemy of God, and adversary of Christ; a teacher of lies and idolatry/' 
If this was true in the days of Luther, we know that in the nineteenth 
and twentieth centuries the popes are better than they were in his 
day, and that they are more willing to forgive their enemies than was 
Luther. Yet Luther was not always in favor of religious liberty, but 
was opposed to Christian monopoly, which was the cause of so many 
different religious sects, and thus a blessing to the world. The greatest 
blessing is to come when all mankind will worship the only true God, 
the Creator of all the worlds and the fulness thereof. 

Luther said, ^^I would have no compassion on these witches, 
I would burn them all.'' He was in favor of religious liberty 
to those who believed as he did, but not to all others. He had his 
faults. 

Martin Luther should have the credit of taking the first steps to 
break up the monopoly of the Christian religion by the Roman Catholic 
Church. The outcome of his efforts was that the Church was divided 
into different sects, this in time causing toleration and the granting of 
religious liberty by the rulers of many nations and kingdoms, for 
which we all should rejoice. We may thank Martin Luther for having 
gained for us religious toleration, though he himself did not practise 
it. 

JOAN OF ARC 

We do not think that the Pope or the Roman Catholic Christian 
Church is infallible or as high in authority as God. Twenty years 
after Joan of Arc was burned by a decree of that wdcked Church a 
council was called to reconsider and reverse her sentence. That was 
its way then of doing business — execute the sentence and reconsider 
it afterward. 

Twenty years of experience and of reflection should have had a good 
effect on the original Christian Church. Let us hope that "The 
Book of Truth " will reach the Pope and his advisers and that it will be 
foimd to contain many things which the godly priests will be pleased 



204 THE BOOK OF TRUTH 

to call to his attention, to the end that the Roman Catholic Church 
may be a blessing to all future generations. 

KINGS AND PRIESTS 

Many people for thousands of years in different parts of the world 
have been misled by pious frauds known as priests and spiritual 
advisers. These people have been controlled and worked in the inter- 
est of kings, queens, and wicked rulers who have kept their subjects in 
ignorance, superstition, and slavery. Let us thank God that gun- 
powder and firearms were discovered to give the common people a 
chance to protect themselves against wicked rulers, and that the dark 
clouds of the past are gradually passing away. Men of courage who 
have seen the bright sunshine of their Creator are exposing the 
wickedness of these religious pretenders, and soon the time will come 
when all the world will know the real and only true God our Creator, 
and the only Saviour of the world. 

DIVINE INSTITUTIONS 

The present ceremonial system is not a divine institution, but a 
priestly one for pomp, pride, glory, and good living. The really di- 
vine institutions are hospitals for the sick, shelter and food for the 
poor, asylums for the insane, and the preaching of the gospel of God 
our Creator, who was before the worlds were. 

INDULGENCES 

In the days of Luther the Catholic Church used to sell indulgences 
and had them peddled through the public streets. They do not give 
them away nowadays to those who have the money to pay for them. 
The authority of the priests to retain or forgive sin would have been 
just as good as it is now if they had taken it from the sun or moon, 
for it is a moonshine business. It is very soothing to evildoers, as 
well as a stimulant to do more evil, if the priest does not charge them 
too much for his services. 

Luther, one of the founders of the Protestant Christian religion, 
was a monk who on account of the corruption in the Roman Catholic 
Christian Church deserted it. Yet, with all his faults, he did more 



FUTURE RELIGION OF THE WORLD 205 

indirectly to give to the world religious liberty and free thought than 
any man in his day or country. 

MONARCHS AND THE POPE 

In the eighth century all monarchs commenced showing their 
respect to the Pope on their first meeting by reverently kissing his 
feet and sometimes his big toe. This is no joke. History says it is 
true. This osculatory ceremony on the part of royalty indicated 
that the Pope ruled the monarch and his people, and not the monarch 
the Pope. This submission of monarchs to popes was the real cause 
of the butchery of Protestants — innocent men, women, and children. 
The Catholic Church has not only misled monarchs, but children 
from infancy by teaching them that Christ is God, the doctrine of the 
Trinity; that the priests have power to retain or forgive sin. 

VAUDEVILLE PEREORMANCE 

The following is a copy of a letter written by a Protestant school- 
girl to her friend: 

^^Did you ever witness a vaudeville performance by a priest when 
he imagines that he is changing bread and wine into a god through 
the virtue of a costly robe and a few words in Latin which none of us 
could understand? It w^as what they call mass. Mother calls it 
ecclesiastical idolatry. The priest bows to the right and to the left 
(sometimes on the wrong side when he is green at the business), walks 
forward and backward, bows low, bows high, and sometimes sinks 
down on his knees. Then he eats and drinks his god and walks in the 
footsteps he has trod.'^ These services are very sacred and solemn 
to those who understand them and believe in Catholicism, but to 
others who are not of this faith they are ridiculous. 

NUNNERIES 

Nunneries in foreign countries for ages were worse than peniten- 
tiaries. It was easy for fine young girls to get into the nunneries, 
but hard to get out, for they were locked in. Nunneries in the United 
States to-day are not what they should be. As a penance for the 
slightest ofifence it is reported that inmates of some nunneries are 



2o6 THE BOOK OF TRUTH 

made to wear haircloth next to the skin as a means of torture and 
subjection during the warm weather, and almost frozen to death in 
the winter. In the Dark Ages the inmates of nunneries were often 
whipped on the naked back with scourges made with scores of tails 
of leather strings until the floor was covered with blood and the marks 
showed for months on the backs of the victims. This was done in 
the name of the original, glorious, Christian, priestly religion. His- 
tory says the priests may violate their vows with impunity, but the 
sisters must obey the will of the priests, which in many cases in the 
past have been worse than the white-slave dens of vice. In some of 
the nunneries they have had to kneel every morning and kiss the 
dirty floor, and at times when they were fasting they have been almost 
starved to death, and these things have been done to please God! 
The priest is the only god who required it. If there ever was a hell 
on earth it was in some of these nunneries of the past. Nuns think 
they are doing God's will to subject themselves to the treatment 
which makes them downcast and miserable, but they are only doing 
the will of an ungodly priest and are his victims. It is ungodly for 
a society to require a woman to make confessions to a priest which 
enables him to accomplish his hellish purpose with those he has under 
his control and obedience. History says a priest, years ago called a 
confessor, seduced sixteen of the most beautiful girls educated in the 
Convent Conservatorio del la Divina Providenza in Rome. The 
just priests, however, should not be blamed for the sins of the ungodly 
and corrupt priests. 

When any of the inmates of nunneries have escaped, the custom 
has been to tell the authorities that they were weak-minded or insane, 
and were placed in the nunneries for safe-keeping. If the poor un- 
fortunates who tried to escape were caught they were put back into 
the nunneries as prisoners, which is contrary to all law and justice. 
No females of sound mind who are not criminals in this country 
should be under absolute, despotic control of any religious society, 
whether it is a nunnery or any other private institution. Such places 
shoifld have no right to put their victims in solitary confinement and 
allow them only bread and water because they tried to escape from 
a priestly, hellish institution. Just such outrages were perpetrated 



FUTURE RELIGION OF THE WORLD 207 

in France in April, 1842. In many of these convents or nunneries 
the inmates are deprived of the privilege of seeing or communicating 
with their parents or friends. It is reported in some cases that the 
mother superior has inquired if they were wealthy when they made 
application for admission. The vow of poverty, obedience, and self- 
mortification required in a nunnery is ungodly, and in some cases 
criminal. We must, however, be charitable and not condemn the 
founders of these institutions for the sins of others. 

SACRAMENT 

It is impossible for Christ to be in the sacrament unless you call 
the grave the sacrament, for there is where his body is. It would be 
a miracle to change bread and wine into the body and blood of a 
dead man, but it is no miracle to pretend to do so. It takes a good 
deal of persuasion to make people who do their own thinking believe 
such nonsense, because prayer makes no change in the wine or bread 
or in those who eat and drink them unless the wine is old and they 
take too much of it. 

SACRIFICE 

It is wrong to slaughter animals at the altar. Blood has no cleansing 
power over sin. It is criminal to sacrifice human beings for the sins 
of others who are unborn and are as pure as the lily. Those who do it 
should be in prison or in a lunatic asylum. The ministers who teach 
it are ungodly and are following in the footsteps of ignorant Jews of 
the Dark Ages. A righteous and just God never punishes the innocent 
for the sins of the guilty. Only ignorant men and Christians do that. 
God never required the blood of sheep, oxen, goats, doves, or human 
beings to appease or satisfy his vengeance. It may be an old Jewish 
religion, but it is not godliness. 

In Biblical times they used to call some people prophets whom we 
call now ignorant men. The true God is not one of vengeance, but 
one of love. 

Christ died for the sins of the world in the same sense that Abraham 
Lincoln died to free the slaves — because some one killed him. The 
truth is, Lincoln lived to free the black man and died when he had 
fulfilled his mission. 



2o8 THE BOOK OF TRUTH 

'^And this shall be the priest's due from the people, from them that 
offer a sacrifice, whether it be ox or sheep; and they shall give unto 
the priest the shoulder, and the two cheeks, and the maw. The first 
fruit also of thy corn, of thy wine, and of thine oil, and the first of the 
fleece of thy sheep, shalt thou give him" (Deuteronomy 18:^4), This 
Scripture indicates where the people's sacrifices to the Lord went, 
and how fond the priests were of good things. 

The priests now take the cash whenever they can get it, and they 
have many schemes by which they are sure to get it from those who 
are of their faith. They do not let up on some members of their 
flocks until their departed have been dead for many years if they can 
induce them to give money for prayers for the dead. 

Is it just to demand that a good man should sacrifice his life for 
the sins of bad men? If it is not just then it is ungodly to accuse God 
of doing it. We should not worship a false God who cannot save 
good or bad men after they have repented without taking the life of 
a good man. 

When religious people require such sacrificial murder they are 
wicked and barbarous and they should know better. Our God is 
not a murderer but a father of love. It cannot be that Jesus sacrificed 
himself for the sins of the world. When he was soon to be put to 
death for violating the Jewish law^s and was anxious to evade the 
punishment he cried, ^^If it be possible let this cup pass from me." 
Our property and lives are safer in the hands of love, reason, and 
justice than in the hands of faith. If your father were nailed to the 
cross as a punishment for violating the laws of his country you would 
never put a picture of his execution under the nose of your friends; 
but, rather, you would tell them that he was a kind father and an 
innocent and godly man. You would say the law which he violated 
was ungodly, made by ignorant and wicked men. The killing of a 
good man will not make wicked men righteous. After the murder 
of the good man the wicked men are in the same condition as they were 
before. If God was unable to save the bad men before the crucifixion 
of the good man. He is unable to do so now. The doctrine of the 
atonement is a trick of the devil or the religion makers and an insult 
to the Deity. We regret that we must hurt the feelings of those who 



FUTURE RELIGION OF THE WORLD 209 

have accepted and have placed their belief in eternal life in the dogmas 
of the orthodox Church, but it would make us sad to have these good 
people depart with a false hope of eternal life. 

ABSOLUTION 

It is a poor quality of religion which will allow a man to rob and 
murder his captives and have a peaceful Christian conscience be- 
cause he knows if he confesses to the priest he will obtain absolution 
by what may be called dividing the spoils. This idea is erroneous 
and makes the world worse; but who is to blame for it? Ministers 
do not have the functions of God. For what the priests claim God is 
not to blame. Priestly absolution is usurpation of the power of God, 
who alone can retain or forgive sin, and the priests have no such 
authority from Him. It is only an assumption and pretention to 
soothe the conscience of their guilty subjects. They are like the old 
negro preacher who stole a cow and sold it. He said he did not do 
it in his own name, but in the name of God the Father, the Son, and 
the Holy Ghost, to meet the expenses of the church. 

Teaching that repentance can readily be made and absolution 
granted by priests for sins against God and His children wilfully 
committed is not godliness. It is a scheme to raise money to support 
the Church and soothe the conscience of murderers, thieves, and other 
criminals, and is a detriment to good morals and makes the world 
worse when men believe it. This is one of the dogmas which makes 
many murderers in one of our leading churches. Confessing sins to 
a priest may degrade you and your friends, but will not make matters 
right with God who knows without your confession. That which 
will make it right with God is for you to make it right with those 
you have wronged, and then all things will work together for good. 

Previous to the thirteenth century the priest used to pray ^^God 
grant thee absolution and remission from sin." With that kind of a 
prayer the money was not coming in fast enough, so they took it out 
of God's hands and said, ^'I absolve thee from all sin,'' and the money 
has flowed like a river into the treasury of the Church ever since. 

We heard of a case where a man robbed a house and got over three 
hundred dollars. He gave the priest one hundred dollars of the 



2IO THE BOOK OF TRUTH 

spoils, believed that his sins were forgiven and his conscience was 
relieved. The man said several months afterward, when he was 
drunk, that it was a good piece of work for he was over two hundred 
dollars ahead and ready for another job. There is no doubt that the 
blessings of the priest were misunderstood. This kind of absolution 
may be Christianity, but it is not godliness, and such institutions 
should not be supported by the public. 

When the priest pretends to give you absolution and takes your 
money how do you know that you have got absolution? You know 
that your money is gone and you know to whom you gave it. The 
priests are not partners of God, for God has no partners; neither does 
He take your money for the forgiveness of sin, or give indulgences for 
you to do things which you should not do. Absolution will not make 
a good egg bad or a bad egg good. No one but an orthodox believer 
would think that it would. 

APOSTOLIC SUCCESSION 

If the claim of the Catholic Christian Church is true, it must have 
been the sectarian murderers of the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries 
who handed down the apostolic succession to the Catholic Church 
of to-day so that none of the links in the chain would be broken. 
This is not a very pleasant thing to claim for a church which pretends 
to be righteous. Since the year 605 A. D., it is an average estimate 
by historians that more than fifty millions of human beings have been 
murdered for the so-called crime of heresy by popish persecutors in 
the name of Christianity, that glorious religion of the past. This 
religion is preached in the churches at the present time as the only 
quack medicine which will give us eternal life. Martin Luther 
barely escaped being burned at the stake. His life was saved prac- 
tically by a very few men who were opposed to taking the life of a 
godly monk. Luther was almost the only one in that company who 
opposed the ungodliness committed by the Catholic Church, of which 
he was a member. The right to put heretics to death had been claimed 
and exercised for many centuries by the Roman Catholic Christian 
Church. We are not going to leave out the word Christian and be 
partial to please the Protestants, because the teachings of the Catholic 



FUTURE RELIGION OF THE WORLD 211 

Church were considered the only true Christianity for the first fifteen 
hundred years after the death of Christ. Martin Luther deserves 
the thanks of the world for being one of the first to condemn and 
protest against the Church selling indulgences to criminals, and butch- 
ering and burning godly people at the stake because they were not 
orthodox Roman Catholic Christians. It is better to obey God than 
man, and we should be careful not to take the Pope or any other man 
for God. 

PARDON 

The priests have no more authority from God to pardon us than the 
undertaker, sheriff, or executioner. The best way is to live a sinless 
life so as to need no pardon. God does not judge us in the same way 
that men do. He is more like a good, earthly father who loves his 
children and forgives them without asking whether or not they are 
penitent. He says: "Dear little child, do not cry. I love thee still. 
Be good and do not do it again. We will kiss and make up.^' The 
quack doctors and priests for the last two thousand years have been 
continually telling us that we were sick and sinful whether we were 
or not, because they were looking for a job to make an extra dollar. 
It is not very complimentary for the priests to tell us when we are 
doing the best we can that we are sinners and ungodly. Most of us 
have to be very godly to stand such abuse. 

The superabundant merits of one man even if he be Jesus will never 
make others better, for every one has to give an account of himself. If 
there are any remissions of sin, they have to be made by God, for the 
ministers have no authority to do so. They can pray, plead, or lie like 
lawyers, but they cannot deceive God or persuade Him to be unjust. 
God notifies all lawyers, ministers, and priests that He is not respon- 
sible for any debts contracted by His ungodly children who have left 
"His bed and board." None has authority from Him to sell indul- 
gences or pardon sins against Him or His children for money or any 
other consideration. 

PETER 

According to the Scriptures, Peter did not expect to work for noth- 
ing. He said: "We have left all things and have followed thee, what, 
therefore, shall we have?" And Jesus said, "When the Son of man 



212 THE BOOK OF TRUTH 

(not God) shall sit on the seat of his majesty those who have left 
houses, sisters, father, mother, wife, children, or lands for my name 's 
sake shall receive a hundredfold and shall possess life everlasting.'^ 
The safest way for we who labor is to get our pay in this world where 
we need it, and not take our chances of receiving it after we are dead. 
Peter has the keys of heaven, but they do not fit the doors. The 
genuine keys of God's kingdom are never in the hands of men in this 
world nor in the next. His good children will need no keys, only a 
pure heart and a child 's love for its Heavenly Father. Jesus ' promises 
are like the mutual life insurance companies of years ago when they 
were unable to redeem their promises and were found worthless after 
the death of the insured. 

Peter himself called Christ the chief cornerstone and rock. Why 
should the church claim for Christ that which he did not claim for him- 
self. Peter might have had some of the keys of this world, but they 
do not have to keep things locked up in heaven. God can get along 
without Peter and his keys, but can Peter get along without God? 

If the religion of the Roman Catholic Church of the sixteenth 
century was handed down to them from St. Peter they should aban- 
don it for the sake of humanity, and accept instead Christ's good 
teachings and the religion of God their Creator and Heavenly Father. 
Most of the time the chair of Peter has been occupied by a saint, 
but occasionally by a devil. 

RELIGION OF ROME 

I would just as willingly think of going to hell as I would to Rome 
or the Holy Land for my religion. The so-called Holy Land is one of 
the most wicked and ungodly places, according to its population, on the 
face of the earth. We can get all the different qualities of religion in 
our own country, and some of these religions are practically worthless 
to the poor. The poorer the quality of the religion the higher the 
price and the quicker it will bring us to poverty. 

A religion which keeps the masses in poverty, ignorance, super- 
stition, and subjection to a Pope is not a godly one. We do not ex- 
pect to find science in religion, for religion is a belief, but we have a 
right to expect righteousness and godliness. A religion that does not 



FUTURE RELIGION OF THE WORLD 213 

inspire men to be truthful and honest is of a very poor quality and un- 
worthy of the name. Catholics say their teachings are preserved 
from error by the guidance of the Holy Ghost, which is the spirit of 
a dead man. We would advise them to have the spirit of a live man 
in a live body take his place. 

PRIESTS AND WEDLOCK 

The Bible teaches that a bishop — whom we call a priest — must 
be blameless, and should be the husband of one wife, and one that 
ruleth well his own house. He should not be required to marry nor 
should he be prohibited from marrying — that is, if the Bible is the 
guide of the Church. While we do not consider this book God's in- 
fallible guide in all things, or equal to his laws of nature, still this 
indicates that the priests were created to enjoy and participate in mar- 
ried life. If it is godly to marry it is ungodly for the Church to 
prohibit its priests from marrying. If it is wrong for the priests to 
marry it is wrong for any one else to marry. God never objects to 
any man, whether priest or layman, having one wife at a time, if he is 
healthy and able to take care of her. History tells us that many men 
have had scores of wives at the same time, and God did not seem to 
interfere with them, for He left it to men to correct the evil. If the 
Catholic priests are what they are called, ^^ Fathers," and are not 
married, they should be. After the decree requiring priests to be 
celibates, the next thing to follow, as a natural result, were the nun- 
neries, which did not exist to any great extent previous to the order 
forbidding the clergy to marry. Celibacy of priests has caused incal- 
culable misery and dishonor. " For this cause shall a man leave father 
and mother, and shall cleave to his wife'' (St. Matthew 19:5). The 
priests leave father and mother, but how can they cleave to a wife if 
they are not allowed to have one? It is not God who prohibits it, but 
ungodly men who rule the Church. If God had created the priests 
neuter gender we would have taken it for granted that He intended 
that they should never marry. When the priests are allowed to marry 
they will have a personal experience with the family and be more 
qualified for their duties. Men are more willing to trust their 
daughters in the hands of doctors who are married than those who 



214 THE BOOK OF TRUTH 

are not. The priests have the same animal nature, according to 
God's laws of nature, that other men have, and should be allowed 
to marry. 

In the fourth century '^The Neocaesarea '' orders were ^^That any 
priest who marries after ordination should be deposed. The (Ecu- 
menical Council forbids all, whether bishops, priests, or other clerics, 
to have under the same roof any woman, save a mother, sister, or 
other whose relationship precludes all just grounds of suspicion.'' 
Undoubtedly the authorities of the Church well knew the weakness 
of the priests or they would never have adopted any such rule as 
this. They all knew what the temptations of nature are, and that 
the priests were no different from other men, and if they did no hard 
work were likely to be more easily tempted and to tempt others. 
When people are better educated they will use their money to support 
their families and tell the priests to keep their indulgences and prayers 
for the dead. 

Spencer says, ^^Among the Friendly Islanders the chief priest was 
too holy to be married, but he had the right to take as many con- 
cubines as he pleased." 

In the ninth century Photius held a council which anathematized 
Pope Nicolas. In his letter of invitation he accused the men of the 
west of corrupting the gospel by forbidding the priests to marry. 
There is no doubt such an order is ungodly, and it is no sin against 
God or mankind to violate it. The priest should be allowed to take 
a wife and live a virtuous life. 

The Catholic Church's forbidding the priests to marry has been 
the cause of many of them committing adultery and some of them 
committing murder. History and the reports in the newspapers con- 
firm these facts. 

BELIEVE OR BE DAMNED 

The Old Testament teaches, "Put evil away from among you." 
The New Testament, "Believe in the Lord Jesus Christ, be baptized 
and be saved. Believe not and be damned." The Roman Catholic 
Church considered the Bible the Word of God, and Protestants and 
heretics as evils. So they put them away by burning some at the 
stake and murdering others in the most cruel manner. It was the 



FUTURE RELIGION OF THE WORLD 215 

mistake of the Scripture makers in putting such ungodly teaching 
in the Bible, and an error on the part of the Roman Catholics in 
taking it for the ^^Word of God'' when it was the word of the devil. 
God had nothing to do with it. If these teachings are Christ's he 
must have been ignorant of godliness or equally guilty with the rest 
of the criminals who committed the horrid butcheries in the sixteenth 
and other centuries in the name of Christianity. 

ROBBERY 

It is time enough to pay the priest for what he has done for us in 
the next world after we get there and see that the job is completed 
and well done. There is no evidence in this world which indicates 
that a priest can do anything for us in eternity before he gets there. 
Then it is too late and may be too long to wait. 

It is wrong to cheat the priests, and it is foolishness and simple- 
mindedness to be robbed by them. If they deprive others of their 
wealth by teaching that which is not true for the sake of worldly gain 
they are robbers. 

When the priests persuade their followers to bequeath the most of 
their property to the Church for masses after they are dead so as to 
secure benefits in the world to come they should be classed among 
those who are known as pious frauds. Such wills should be made 
void by law. 

MONETARISM 

The Catholic churches are generally replenishing their treasuries 
at the expense of an ignorant and superstitious people in many dif- 
ferent ways, which are well known to their subjects. 

Many of the Protestant churches are not far behind them in this 
respect. We know that the work cannot be carried on without money, 
but they should know that it is wrong to procure money dishonestly, 
even for a good cause. 

CONFESSION 

What is the use of making a confession of our sins to God when 
He knows them? We should ask Him for His forgiveness. It is no 
business of the priests to know all our sins. They are nothing but 



2i6 THE BOOK OF TRUTH 

men. We should not bow to them as to our God. Confessing to a 
priest is nonsense. Make confession to God in secret if to any one. 
It is safer to make our confessions to an old cow than to a priest or 
minister, for she cannot tell it to others so that it will disgrace us, our 
relatives, and friends, and cause them shame and anguish, or be used 
by grafters. Sacramental confessions are no more a divine institution 
than slavery or mormonism. They should be called priestly, for they 
were instituted by the priests for what money there is in them for 
the Church. 

ROBES 

The wearing of gowns and robes by ministers during religious 
ceremonies shows their colors and may make common people better, 
but it is not at all necessary. It is no sin to make the church at- 
tractive; neither is it wrong to give a better show in the church than 
the public can get at the theatres for the same money, and by so doing 
make the people more godly and cultivate in them a love for the 
beautiful and teach them to enjoy the sweet music which comes from 
God's earthly angels who are still in the flesh, but developing a spirit 
which in due time will be fit to be with the heavenly angels in God's 
Kingdom. 

PROTESTANTS' CONSOLATION 

It is of no use to accuse a church of the murders of innocent men, 
women, and children committed five hundred years ago unless this 
church has the same spirit now that it did at that time. 

We know that the Catholic Church now has not that desire to 
murder Protestants it had several hundred years ago. Whether it is 
God or the laws of nations which removed it, we should give the 
church the credit of the fact. We should not judge it by what it 
was in the past, but by what it is now, and the good it is doing for 
humanity. 

CHRISTIAN SCIENCE 

The name is a misnomer, for the so-called Christian Scientist knows 
nothing about surgery or medicine — two of the greatest sciences in 
the world to relieve suffering humanity. It is a poor quality of 
Christianity to let women and children die without medical aid, 
simply because these so-called practitioners are after the almighty 



FUTURE RELIGION OF THE WORLD 217 

dollar. Christ says: '^They that are sick need a physician.'^ Old 
Mother Eddy says they do not. She might have added there is no 
money in it for the Christian Scientist if a physician is called. We 
doubt very much if Christ or Christian Science treatment ever cured 
any one without other means. The Christian Scientists are claiming 
the cures made by nature. There is one thing sure — they can have 
no monopoly of the business, for God will hear the prayers of any 
good man just as quickly as He will theirs. 

Under the old treatment of diphtheria ninety per cent, of the pa- 
tients died. Now, under the latest scientific treatment, ninety per cent, 
of the patients live. But with the Christian Scientists, who admin- 
ister practically no treatment, ninety per cent, still die — they let 
them die, without medicine. The time will come when this crime of 
persuading sick people not to call a physician when necessary will 
be punished the same as any other scheme for obtaining money under 
false pretences for a selfish purpose. Christian Science often causes 
the death of God's children when their lives could have been saved 
by medical aid. 

We find by experience that for biliousness and sick headache an 
anti-bilious pill, such as prescribed by our physician, will operate much 
more quickly than a prayer, and the pill is God's means of relief. 
Religious people are the easiest people in the world to impose upon, 
which accounts for the success of faith cures. We heard of a case 
where a man loaned one of these practitioners about one hundred 
dollars and he never got it back. That cured him. Those who think 
prayer is a cure-all and are willing to buy a dose for that purpose 
should not be buncoed when they are sick, or have their life placed in 
jeopardy, for in many cases delays are dangerous. Call in a physician 
and place yourself under his care. Then, if you want any prayers, 
call in your minister, who has just as much intercourse with God as 
these prayer peddlers, and you will be doing your duty to yourself, 
your friends, and the God who created you, and it will be safer than 
committing suicide indirectly by doing nothing to regain your health 
and reason. 

Some societies have a reformed church. The Christian Scientists 
need one to save the lives of those who are sick, so they can work in 



2i8 THE BOOK OF TRUTH 

harmony with the doctor and surgeon to lengthen their days and 
relieve them from suffering while in the body. If we take Mother 
Eddy's book, ^^ Science and Health, '^ edition 1898, and separate any 
single leaf and turn it up facing the sun, you cannot read either side. 
Some think it is on account of the thinness of the paper, others think 
it is on account of the mixture. Try it and see — we think it is as 
clear as mud. 

We are told of the many diseases that Christian Scientists have 
cured by prayer. We do not think that prayer is a cure-all, but that 
nature made the cure and they claimed it. But there is no doubt in 
our minds that there are many who needed no medicine whom Mother 
Eddy's followers have made feel better by the use of prayer and hot 
air. Incidentally these persons who thought they were ill and felt 
better were relieved of some of their money. Doctors who are not 
Christians have just as good success in their practice as those who 
are, and sometimes even better success, because non-Christians never 
leave things for God to do. They know God has left the case in their 
hands, and they realize they are to be the means to assist nature to 
prolong the life of the afflicted, so they give nature a chance to make 
the cure. 

Mrs. Eddy says (page 61): ^^ Disease being a belief." This is not 
true; it is a reality, a fact which cannot be denied by truthful people. 
And every disease has its name and is generally supposed to be caused 
by violating some of the holy laws of nature, or in not taking proper 
care of the body by exposing it to diseases. Doctors have had just 
as great success in lengthening the days of the ungodly as they have 
of the godly, for God is impartial. 

Mrs. Eddy (page 63) quotes the Scripture text, ^'Whosoever be- 
lieveth in Me shall never die." If that refers to the body, how did 
she happen to die? If it refers to the spirit, there is no resurrection, 
for the spirit never dies. On the same page she says: ^^ Matter which 
takes divine power into its own hands and claims to be a creator is a 
fiction." That is what we think, and that is what Christ did, and 
from him she got her quack medicine from which she made 
millions of dollars in the name of Christianity, and was the means 
of letting some of God's children die without medical treatment, 



FUTURE RELIGION OF THE WORLD 219 

when such treatment might have been the means of lengthening 
their days. 

If Mrs. Eddy's teachings are true, the life insurance companies 
should give her followers a special and lower rate of insurance, yet 
that is not the case. Some of the companies have refused to take the 
risk on some of her believers, because they will not call a physician 
when they are sick. The managers of these companies are some of 
the best business men in the world and think God has left it to men 
to cure the diseases of men so they may live out their natural days. 

On page 76, Mrs. Eddy says: ^^ Belief produces the results of be- 
lief.'' We all know better than that in our own daily experience, but 
it is a favorable thing for the sick to have in order that the medicine 
may have the desired effect. We know of many who believed they 
were going to get well and have died suddenly, while others who 
thought they were going to die over forty years ago are still alive 
and well as usual. 

Mrs. Eddy says (page 71): "To perform sudden cures they must 
take up the cross and follow Christ." We are sure there is no intel- 
ligence in the cross. If they follow Christ into the grave that would 
be "absent treatment" and they would not be able to get back to pay 
their dollar. We think when we are very sick we should prefer to 
have our friends call in a live man who knows the science of medicine. 
Mrs. Eddy says that Science can heal the sick who are absent from 
their healers. We suppose in the same way a surgeon cuts off a man's 
leg when he is not there. This looks to us like a fraudulent mail- 
order business, and the United States Government should put its 
detectives on such cases. 

She says (page 72): "You can educate a horse so that he will 
take cold without his blanket." A horse which is kept in a stable 
with a blanket on, then allowed to stand out in the cold without a 
blanket on his back, will, of course, take cold; but there is no education 
about it any more than there is about her healing. Her prayers to a 
dead man will not make it otherwise. She may fool a young colt, 
but an old horse will not take her dose unless he Is forced to, for it 
prefers cornmeal and oats to prayer. 

She says that as long as one reads medical works he will be sick. 



2 20 THE BOOK OF TRUTH 

We all know better than that, for it does not make doctors sick. 
The reading of her book may make us disgusted or easy subjects to 
be buncoed. A man cannot cure the ills of men unless he understands 
the science of medicine. Christianity is not a science, it is only a 
belief. If her subjects would pray to a so-called sacred bull to heal 
them, the result would be the same as to a dead messiah, if they had 
the same faith. 

The only divine laws arfe God's holy laws of natune — the prayers 
of a silly woman cannot change them, only in the minds of silly people. 
The laws of health are natural laws and are not spiritual, but always 
the same to the just and the unjust. It is not a sin against God to 
eat green apples, mince pies, ice cream, and cake, or drink coffee, yet 
these things make some people sick. Prayer will not cure them; but 
if they stop eating and drinking the things which do not agree with 
them nature will keep them wxll without prayer. It looks to me as 
if this praying to a dead man or god to cure the ills of the living 
for money is a fraud and swindle, and only fools will give the credit 
to healers when it was nature that made the cure. 

When a man is crazy, has lost his memory, or is weak-minded, it is a 
disease of the mind. Prayer will do no harm in such cases as these. 
Dogs, cats, and rats may be good subjects to make experiments upon to 
see what prayer will do for them, but it should not be tried upon the 
wise or those who are sick and need a doctor, except it be absent 
treatment, and the further away the better it is for the patient. Con- 
sumption, heart, liver, and stomach troubles are diseases of the body. 
Sometimes diet and remedies for the body will cure them. In cases 
of diphtheria, croop, bowel complaints, and many others, delays are 
dangerous. If you fool with prayer peddlers or quacks you may im- 
peril your life and not know what is the cause of your sickness until it 
is too late and your days of grace are gone. If you should cut your 
foot and this is one of Mother Eddy 's mind diseases you should put 
the bandage around the head. There is no science in Christianity 
except to make a good living at the expense of others, and we should 
not take it for godliness which comes from God our Creator, while 
Christianity comes from Jesus, a man born of woman, who died about 
nineteen hundred years ago and is no more able to do anything for us 



FUTURE RELIGION OF THE WORLD 221 

in this world than any other dead man. If you should cut an artery 
in your leg put a tight bandage on the leg between the cut and the 
heart and thus save your life until the physician reaches you, then 
he will do the rest. If you have no bandage for that purpose im- 
provise one from a handkerchief or anything else that may be handy 
and suitable. In a case like this prayer will not take the place of a 
bandage or save your life. Be wise and live; or be a fool and die; and 
the fool who preaches your funeral sermon may say: ^^The Lord gave 
and the Lord hath taken away. Amen. " 

On page 106, Mrs. Eddy says: ^^ Jesus healed the sick, destroyed 
death and sin. '' If that is true, there should be no more deaths or sick- 
ness, for she teaches sin is the cause of sickness. It is very doubtful if 
the Divine Mind interferes with the human mind. When it does the 
human mind is not accountable for its action. Who knows that mortal 
mind is immortal while in the body? Is it really immortal before it 
leaves the body? 

On page 107, Mrs. Eddy says the sensation of sickness exists only in 
belief. We beg to differ with her. When we have a sick headache 
the trouble is in the stomach; but when we throw up Jonah and all the 
rest we are as well as usual. When we have ingrowing nails in our 
toes the pain is real. When we take a knife and cut them out there is 
no more pain. If we should try to pray them out it is to be feared 
our friends would put us in a lunatic asylum. Mrs. Eddy quotes the 
Scriptures: *''As a man thinketh in his heart, so is he. '^ This may 
account for her thinking that she is what she thinks she is. The 
heart doesn't think — it pumps. It is the mind and reason that 
think. So, we suppose, when the heart thinks, this will be true ; but we 
want the truth now and cannot wait. She says the ear really hears 
not. We think it is the only part of the body which can hear sounds, 
so she must have been deaf or a little off, as usual. 

When Mother Eddy says the body has no pain, she must be refer- 
ring to a dead man, for they are the only ones who do not have pains. 
Mother Eddy calls her cure-all ^^ Mortal Mind,'' price one dollar, six 
for five dollars, no extra charge for absent treatment, sure cure for sin, 
sickness, and death. It works like magic. When her practitioners 
pray, the sickness passeth away. 



222 THE BOOK OF TRUTH 

On page 149, Mother Eddy writes: '^I give life, for I am life, and 
give all, for I am mind." That sounds like the farmer's little boy 
who had a party and said: ''I give potatoes, for I am potatoes; I give 
turnips, for I am turnips; I give squash, for I am squash. '^ And one 
of the larger boys said, " Yes, and a soft one at that. '' 

Mother Eddy does not believe in the Trinity and she never wor- 
shipped idols of stone, wood, or images. We honor her judgment in this 
respect. It is not our object to destroy the business of those who are 
doing good to the world, but to abolish the ungodly business of pious 
frauds who are not teaching the truth as revealed in God and His holy 
laws of nature. One of the greatest sins of the Christian Scientist is the 
one of omission in not calling a doctor in dangerous diseases to look 
after the body, and in cases of pain and great suffering letting people die 
without the medical aid which is one of the greatest blessings to man- 
kind. Mother Eddy used to give medicine as well as offer prayers for 
the sick until it was stopped because she had no license to practise 
medicine. The time will come when the lawmakers will make it a crime 
to influence sick people not to receive medical aid, or to allow children 
to die without medical treatment. Among this society there are many 
surgeons and physicians; they should be the healers, and not those 
who know nothing about the science of medicine, godliness, or right- 
eousness, but are in it for what they can get out of it. They have a 
thousand times more testimonies that they have cured the sick than 
Christ has, yet we do not believe that Christ or Mother Eddy cured 
any one who had a fatal disease by prayer. It is not a positive fact 
that because some one was sick and got well it was prayer that effected 
the cure. 

On page 172, Mrs. Eddy writes: ^^Intelligence never produced non- 
intelligence. " If God made all mankind. He produced an immense 
amount of non-intelligence, but expected that by righteous instruc- 
tion all would become wise, and it is not his fault if they do not. A 
religion which teaches people to let men, women, and children die, 
when they are sick, without medical aid is ungodly and a curse to any 
community. Page 193, Mother Eddy says: ^^If you believe you are 
sick, change your belief and you will not be sick. Human belief says 
to mortals: ^You are wretched' and they become so, and nothing 



FUTURE RELIGION OF THE WORLD 223 

can change this state until the belief changes." We think not. If 
we have gout, consumption, or any other disease of the body, to change 
our belief will make no more difference with these diseases than it will 
to change our trousers or the buttons on our vest. Page 214, Mother 
Eddy says again: ^'To employ drugs for the cure of diseases shows a 
lack of faith in God. " This is nonsense. In many cases medicine is 
food. God cannot eat or sleep for us. Drugs and oils were created 
for our use. Prayer will not take the place of food or medicine. Such 
teachings are manslaughter in the first degree when sick people make 
use of them. The devil could not provide any worse teaching for 
mankind than Mother Eddy has. 

On page 215, Mrs. Eddy says: ^^Man should have no other mind 
but God." This is absurd, for God expects us to do our own think- 
ing and have minds of our own, as well as to use our reason and in- 
telligence and not abuse it, for the more we use it the greater the 
development and the wiser we are. Page 224, she says: ^^ Understand- 
ing spiritual law and knowledge there is no material law. Jesus said 
these signs shall follow them that believe: 'They shall take up 
serpents, and if they drink any deadly thing it shall not hurt them. 
They shall lay hands on the sick and they shall recover.'" We all 
know that this is not so. We do not care who says it, they were 
ignorant or liars. It is dangerous to have books in our homes which 
contain such things as these where children are liable to get hold of 
them, and by so doing may lose their lives by handling poisonous 
snakes in the country, or taking poison in order to find out if these 
things are true. The authorities should see to it that all such books 
are labeled with large letters '^ POISON." Deadly poison will kill a 
Christian or godly man just as quickly as it will a devil; sometimes 
more quickly, for devils can stand more poisonous whiskey than a 
godly man, who is not used to it. For a minister to lay his hand on 
the head of the sick will not cure them any more quickly than to 
tickle them under the chin. This hand business is only a matter of 
form without virtue. For moneymakers there is nothing like using 
your mind to work a mine and cause the other fellows to do the dig- 
ging. Mother Eddy's bait for catching lobsters, bullheads, and 
suckers is ''Mortal Mind," which is only her private trademark that 



224 THE BOOK OF TRUTH 

indicates humbug. The preachers in the Dark Ages when they were 
hungry used to roast lambs, sheep, and bullocks. Then they stopped 
it and commenced roasting human beings- It is now about time 
they took some of their own medicine; but they tell us that it saved 
others, but it will not save them for they tried it and were unsuc- 
cessful. If that is so, they should stop giving it to others — even if 
it does cut off their means of support and they may have to work for 
a living. 

On page 302, Mrs. Eddy says: ^^God will not punish man for 
doing what he created him capable of doing." This is not Christian- 
ity, for man can do that which is good or wicked, and is a free moral 
agent. I admit that she knows more about it than I do, because she 
is dead; but she was not when she wrote this; but her life indicates 
that she wrote what she thought. On page 304, Mother Eddy says 
that she has cured infidels. How does she know but what it was nature 
that healed them and her prayers had nothing to do with the case. We 
know that the devil is partial. If she did her healing through him 
he might have had pity on one of his children= But we know prayer 
will not make a just God unjust or partial. On page 321, Mrs. Eddy 
says: "Prayer heals sickness and must destroy sin and death." 
We know it does not destroy death, for it is appointed unto earthly 
man once to die; but the spirit has eternal life and never dies. Prayer 
is not required to heal diseases of the body — the laws of nature act 
alike upon the just and the unjust. When we violate these laws we 
must look out for the penalty. In many cases the penalty can be 
evaded by the use of nature's remedies, but prayer is not one of those 
remedies; such silly, foolish things put into the head are apt to make 
the brain dead. On page 370, Mother Eddy says: "Physicians 
examine the pulse, tongue, and lungs to discover the condition of 
matter, when in fact all is mind." It may have been so with her and 
those who are a "little off," but not so with others. Doctors usually 
examine the part of the body which is affected. If a child cuts its 
finger or foot, that is what they examine. I suppose Mother Eddy 
would examine the head. When the trouble is in the mind, it shows 
it without an examination. When we receive an electric shock it is 
the battery and the wires which convey it to the mind, and not the 



FUTURE RELIGION OF THE WORLD 225 

mind which conveys it to the battery. When Mother Eddy said 
man cannot suffer, there is no doubt but what she should have had 
her mind examined. Our belief will not make us anything but what 
we are. When a woman believes that she is a man that won't make 
it so; belief wall not make a black man white; neither will prayer to 
Jesus or God. Some kinds of food will make you sick, while other 
kinds will agree with you. It is not the belief which makes the dif- 
ference, but the food. Belief will not change facts. We have known 
men who when drunk thought that they were worth millions of dol- 
lars, but when they got sober they found that they were very poor, 
and their belief made them nothing more than what they were. 
When a white woman has a black child no one but a Christian Scien- 
tist or a fool would think it was caused by belief. 

On page 392, Mother Eddy says: ^^Mind can conquer sickness 
just as it conquers sin.'' If that is so, why do her followers get sick 
and die? On the same page, she says: ^^It is well to be calm in sick- 
ness." If that is not folly, what is? If we are never sick, how can 
we be calm in sickness? The best places to practise mind healing 
are among idiots, lunatics, and weak-minded people who have diseases 
of the mind. Those among us who are wise will go to a doctor in 
case of sickness in preference to consulting a prayer peddler. On 
page 412, Mrs. Eddy says: ^^Mind regulates the condition of the 
stomach, bowels, and temperature of men." This is not so. It 
does not regulate our bowels, because our food does that; nor does 
it digest our foods, for it is our stomach and liver which do that. 
If the mind regulated our temperature we would be able to reduce our 
coal bill during the cold winters. On page 416, she says: ^^This 
mortal human dream of sickness, sin, and death should cease through 
Christian Science." We know that it never has. Sickness and 
death are not a dream, but are realities, and it is foolish to try to 
destroy them by prayer, which is not a specific for the germs of dis- 
ease. God has left it to the intelligence of men to cure the sick and 
provide for the needy. It looks as if Mother Eddy supposed the 
Infinite God was her partner, and that nature made the cures. She 
raked in all the cash, and it was found in her effects after her death. 
On page 450, she says: ^Xhristian Science medicine is mind." We 



226 THE BOOK OF TRUTH 

are not aware that mind is medicine and a cure-all. Doweyism and 
Eddyism have not driven the doctors and the drug stores out of 
business. There are now in the United States more drug stores and 
doctors than there ever were before. Belief will not destroy sin, 
sickness, nor death. If it would. Mother Eddy would still be alive. 
On page 452, Mother Eddy says: ^^ Teaching in the name of Truth, 
but contrary to its rules, is most dangerous quackery.'' We think 
so, and it is a pity that she did not find it out many years ago, for 
it might have saved the lives of many who died without medical aid 
on account of her ungodly teachings. On page 581, Mrs. Eddy says: 
^^ Knowledge is the origin of sin and death." This is not the truth; 
it is more apt to be ignorance. It is no sin to be wise. She must 
have thought it a sin for others to know too much about her money- 
making business or to expose it. Wisdom is godliness and the right 
use and exercise of knowledge. 

On page 253, Mrs. Eddy says: ^^ Science enables one to heal through 
mind.'' I think we will be more successful if we heal through nature. 
The mind is not a remedy to cure the diseases of mankind. On the 
next page she quotes the Scriptures: ^^As a man thinketh, so is he." 
That is not true even if it is in the Bible. I have known many 
insane people who thought they were sane, but that did not make 
them so. Men are not always what they think they are, but often 
what they don't think. Mother Eddy wants a religion of the heart 
and not of the head. I think she has got it, for there is no more 
intelligence or reason in the heart than there is in the liver. The 
heart is used as a pump and in about the same way any steam pumps 
are used, where it requires a force which pushes the blood through 
the system, and it does it without intelligence. A religion like this 
should be a great success among lunatics and children. Mother 
Eddy (page 8) says: ^'All cause and effect are mental, not physical." 
I differ with her. When we have the mumps, smallpox, scarlet fever, 
or any other of the ^^ ills that flesh is heir to," they are very real. 

There are no ecclesiastical monopolies among the different churches, 
so there is no use of paying the priest five dollars when Mother Eddy's 
followers will do it for a dollar. Save your money for old age. Mrs. 
Eddy thinks that because mind was first, mind, not matter, must 



FUTURE RELIGION OF THE WORLD 227 

have been the first medicine. Mind is not medicine. Mind is that 
which looks for medicine to cure the ills of the body. Christ said 
those who are sick need a physician. He undoubtedly had tried 
prayer and it had not cured the sick, and the doctors had better 
success than he. We cannot change gray hair to its natural color by 
prayer; we have to use a dye to do that. Prayer will not remove 
warts or corns from the flesh, but a surgeon can without prayer. 
If all we know about healing is procured from the Bible, we are not 
fit to doctor a cat. Mother Eddy (page 53) says: ^' Man's belief 
produces disease." I think not. No man will believe he has corns 
unless he has them. It was not his belief that produced them, but 
tight shoes. She says, on page 54: ^'Mortal mind and not matter 
burnt your finger." We know that the mind of a red-headed girl is 
not hot enough to burn her fingers; it was fire that did it. 

Christian Science healers cannot be legally convicted under the 
present laws of many of our states for practising medicine without a 
license, because they give no medicine. They give you only a ^' jolly " 
for your money and let you die without medicine if you are fool enough 
to do so. On page 256, Mother Eddy says: ^^It is difficult for the sinner 
to accept Divine Science." We may add that it is not for the fool. 
It is human science and nature which cure the ills of the body. The 
only relief that we should expect from the so-called Divine Science is 
a relief of the overcrowded pocketbook, for it is a sinecure for some 
of the practitioners. Fire will burn, water will drown, poison will 
kill a Christian or godly man just as quickly as an ungodly man, 
prayer or no prayer. This is conclusive evidence that God is im- 
partial and that Christian healers who pretend to cure all manner of 
disease by prayer are frauds and pretenders. 

THE NEW TESTAMENT 

The New Testament was written by sectarians after the death of 
Christ. All of the writers were members of that Christian society 
and were interested in the success of the cause. It looks as if they 
put everything in the book they thought would be to their interest, 
regardless of the facts. Of course they could prove everything that 
they wanted to at the time it was written. If the birth of Christ, his 



2 28 THE BOOK OF TRUTH 

healing of the sick, resurrection of the body, and his ascension be 
true there would be some mention of these events in the history of the 
nation in which he lived the same as it would be now in any country; 
but there is practically nothing outside of this book to confirm it, 
while God's laws repudiate it in its most essential and important 
features. The writer of this book is one of God's defenders against 
bogus gods in snakeskins, or made of wood or stone, in the flesh or 
otherwise. Those who worship them are worshipping idols. The 
New Testament has certainly been juggled by the writers. 

We are indebted to the CathoHcs for the New Testament. If it 
had not been for the Roman Christian Church we undoubtedly 
would have no New Testament at the present time, for it was the 
only Christian Church until at least fourteen hundred years after the 
death of Christ, and we have no gospel of the other fifteen men, each 
of whom claimed that he was the true messiah and came to save 
mankind. Yet we think with God's help the world would have gone 
on just the same and that our Heavenly Father is able to dispense 
with the services of all of these men. It may be if there had been 
no New Testament that the fifty millions of people who were murdered 
by the Catholics as heretics might have been permitted to have lived 
out the full length of their days in peace and happiness, and been 
able to worship the God who is the Creator of all things which are 
created by an Infinite Being and is our only Saviour. 

Christ is not responsible for the writings in the New Testament, 
for it was written long after his death and he had no opportunity to 
correct their mistakes. When alive he was continually being mis- 
understood. There is no doubt but that the writers made a botch 
of it in many cases, for most of them were ignorant and anxious to 
make Christians of others and to write those things which would 
make a success of Christ's gospel. All the men of Christ's day and 
their children's children were dead at the time the New Testament 
was written, and there were none left to confirm or contradict it, for 
dead men tell no tales. It is a very unreliable history. There is 
no record of the death of the Virgin Mary, the mother of Christ, 
or the death of his father, known as Joseph, who had murder in his 
heart and was about to kill Mary. They were poor people, and the 



FUTURE RELIGION OF THE WORLD 229 

historians must have thought they did not amount to much, and so did 
not record the date of their death. 

Jesus Christ died upon the cross, but God never died; He still 
lives, and will live forever, and is not accountable for the worthless- 
ness and unreliability of the New Testament. 

The Roman Catholic theologians are the real authors of the New 
Testament, which was written more than three hundred and fifty years 
after the death of Christ and all his apostles. If they do not now 
preach it as they wrote it that does not make them anti-Christian. 
Authors have the right to change the reading in their books. Many 
things in this book are anti-godliness. The most essential doctrines, 
such as Jesus' birth, resurrection, ascension, and his being the judge 
of the world, are not true, and it is a sin against God and humanity to 
preach such nonsense. 

JUSTICE 

We should earnestly desire to improve the condition of the human 
race, which can be done by abolishing cruelty, favoritism, and in- 
justice, and by teaching righteousness. When your house is adorned 
by an exalted-minded woman who has superior reason and godly 
motives, who will not go astray because of the love of pleasure or be- 
cause of ungodly teachings by orthodox ministers, but will be just 
toward those whom she has reason to hate, and impartial toward 
those she loves, then you have obtained the means of making a home 
happy and godlike; hate will be turned to love, and your family will be 
fit to live in this world and wdth the just in the next. The Chinese 
and Japanese, who are impartial and are of the same blood and species 
as all human beings, are more godly than the Christians, who are 
partial and discriminate against these people on account of their race 
and color. Such conduct is not godliness, but selfishness and devil- 
ishness. 

It will never satisfy the justice of God for men to kill a good man for 
the sins of bad men. According to the Scriptures Christ must have 
paid the debts of the unborn before they were created, and then they 
were born sinners, which is not true. How can Christ forgive sins 
before they are committed? The doctrine of the atonement is absurd. 
If Jesus had the power to forgive sins he would not have asked 



230 THE BOOK OF TRUTH 

God to do so. The habit of making men of little account when they 
are alive, gods after they are dead, is a bad one. It is too late to honor 
a man after he is dead; but by showing him due respect we honor his 
memory and ourselves. 

RIGHTEOUSNESS 

In this world we do not want rulers who will keep us in the wilder- 
ness forty years, but those who are just, righteous, and competent to 
care for the masses so as to better their condition. Men should pay 
taxes according to their property, and not according to what they eat 
and drink, for the poor man can eat as much as the rich man. Buyers 
should have competition for their trade. If they cannot get it in this 
country on all articles of necessity they should have the privilege of 
buying those articles in other countries without paying a tax for the 
privilege of stopping others from robbing them. A tariff bill is a tax 
bill. The higher the taxes the more wages we need to make both ends 
meet. When monopoly is robbery, send the robbers to the penitentiary 
where they belong, or drive them out of business before they cause 
the poor, w^orking masses to be sent to the poorhouse. Serve God 
and man by teaching political economy in the Sunday-school. 

The laws of God and the penalties are the same for the unjust 
and the just, both for those who pray and for those who do not. 
We cannot live long without sleep, something to eat, to drink, and 
pure air to breathe. A bullet through the heart will kill a Christian or 
a godly man just as quickly as it will a devil. Fire will burn and 
water will drown one man just as quickly as it will another. God is 
impartial. This is the way we can tell Him, the real God and Saviour, 
from the fraudulent gods and saviours, who are only men and are 
partial the same as devils are, when it is for their interest. We should 
have faith in the unseen God and in the reason which He has given 
us. Then we shall reap the products of our labor and receive the 
blessing of our Heavenly Father. 

JUDGMENT DAY 

The spirits of the dead do not have to wait a million years or even 
one day to be judged. There is no great Judgment Day of the world. 
The men who wrote such nonsense knew nothing about it, but were 



FUTURE RELIGION OF THE WORLD 231 

not such fools as those who preach or believe it. A just God does 
not keep souls in suspense or prison for ages waiting for judgment. It 
is only men who do that. When we die our destiny is settled for all 
eternity. It is only an earthly idea that God in the far future will 
have a Judgment Day. 

TAXATION AND EDUCATION 

Righteousness in taxation and all affairs of the government should 
always be taught in the schools when they are supported by public 
taxation. If that is what the wealthy and newspapers which look 
after the special interest of the wealthy call politics and religion we are 
also in favor of teaching it in the Sunday-schools in such a way that a 
man will know how to vote intelligently and will be able to look out 
for his interest and the interests of all mankind. It is a righteous 
business for the priests to see that the rich do not cast the burden of 
taxation upon the poor and needy working people or keep them in 
ignorance so that those who are wealthy can get the lion 's share of the 
products of labor without giving the working people their just share 
of the profits in the form of wages. 

All houses of worship should be free from taxation when there 
is no income from the buildings, and the church is supported by 
contributions on the condition that one third of the seats are free to 
the public at all religious services, and the rest reserved for regular 
attendants. 

The so-called churches are nothing but societies. A house of wor- 
ship is a meeting-house, the same as the meeting-places of the Sal- 
vation Army, Elks, Masons, Odd Fellows, Volunteers, Jews, and many 
others which are just as much religious societies as the churches, and 
entitled to have their meeting-house, their place of worship, exempt 
from taxation when there is no income from them. Why not? That 
which is righteousness for one is the same for all others. All buildings 
from which there are no incomes and which are used wholly to make the 
world better, more righteous, and godlike, or for the sick, needy, poor, 
and afflicted should be free from taxation, and not used for the support 
of a lot of corrupt politicians or lazy priests who do not give the value 
in full for what they receive. 



232 THE BOOK OF TRUTH 

If our laws are not godly it is because the people who made them are 
not godly, and it is godly to vote them out of office and put others in 
their places. 

UNJUST PUNISHMENT 

There were hundreds of men who appeared among the Jews claim- 
ing to be the Messiah whom the Jews were looking for, so a law was 
made to punish these pretenders. Religious history says there were 
fifteen people who claimed to be the Messiah before the days of Jesus. 
Each of these persons claimed that he was the only Saviour of the 
world and that he could save mankind after death. That was not 
the kind of a Messiah the Jews were looking for. They wanted one 
to protect and save them in this world. Some historians claim that 
Jesus was the only one who was executed, but there is no doubt that 
there were sixteen who claimed the Messiahship. Some of the judges 
in New York, Texas, Michigan, and other places, are now making 
examples of criminals by giving them severe sentences so as to pre- 
vent others from committing similar crimes. To make people suffer 
for others is a shame and disgrace to a civilized community. The 
governors in these states should look after these judges and the poor, 
ignorant unfortunates made examples of, and in due time grant the 
latter a pardon. Let ^'the penalty fit the crime," but go no further 
in the ways of torture and devilishness, which methods these judges 
evidently take for Christianity. 

We should remember God's love and mercy for suffering humanity. 
We do suffer sometimes for the sins of others. It is not God's fault, 
but the fault of humanity and unjust judges who should be removed 
from office for cruelty or bad judgment. We know some of these 
judges pretend to be Christians and may think if it is right to make 
Jesus, a good man, suffer for us, it is right to make one man suffei 
for others. This may be Christianity, but not the godliness which 
comes from God. 

UNGODLINESS 

Moses had a man stoned to death for blasphemy. '^Eye for an 
eye, tooth for a tooth; so shall it be done to him. Ye shall chase 
your enemies and they shall fall before you by the sword.'' 

How ridiculous it is to call these things godliness. When Jesus 



FUTURE RELIGION OF THE WORLD 233 

says, love your enemies, it indicates that Jesus was a better man than 
Moses, but no better than God. 

KILLING GOOD MEN TO SAVE BAD MEN 

If a nation should make a law to accept as a sacrifice the life of a 
good man for the sins and crimes committed by bad men, all good and 
godly people would protest against it as a bad, unjust, and wicked law. 
Yet orthodox Christians teach children that God committed such a 
crime as this, which is not true, and took the life of a good man so 
that he would be able to save others. Many Sunday-schools are now 
teaching their pupils the dogmas of the Church and thus destroying the 
intelligence and reason of these children so they will not think and reason 
for themselves. Truth is truth and falsehood is falsehood whether we 
find it in the Bible or some other book. Molasses is sweet whether you 
find it in the vinegar bottle or the molasses jug, and the same is true 
of other things. 

LAWS 

Laws are made to protect the weak against the strong and those 
who are lawless, thieves, murderers, false swearers, and the imgodly. 
When the latter class of people become righteous and godly there 
will be but little use for the police, sheriffs, and executioners. Often 
the strong and powerful are more godly than the weak and afflicted, 
who think they are not able to get a good living honestly. 

When the laws of a country make a few rich at the expense of the 
millions, these laws are unjust, and the priests and preachers should 
raise their voices for the cause of righteousness and in the name of 
God and His children, so as to do something for suffering humanity 
in this world, which God expects them to do. 

God had no more to do in the making of the laws of Moses than 
He has now in making of the laws of Turkey, Russia, or the United 
States. If God made the laws of men they would be uniform through- 
out the world. God allows the people to make their own laws and 
punish those who violate them. 

No one but a God could have made the laws of nature. Some take 
these laws to be the substance of God, for they are impartial and un- 
changeable, just and righteous, and govern the universe. The laws 



234 THE BOOK OF TRUTH 

of this world are made by man, and the penalties are executed by men 
who never wait for God to do it, for it is not one of His attributes. 

Ministers, priests, Buddha, Confucius, or Christ are unable to 
change God's laws of nature or have God change them by prayer. 
Do you think God will give you eternal life if you deny Him and 
worship some one else as God and your Saviour, because you find it 
so written in the Bible or the almanac? We think not. 

IMPARTIAL 

God does not discriminate in giving life in this world between the 
good and the bad, the just and the unjust. If this is God's way on 
earth and it is godly, why should it not be His rule in eternity? All 
discriminations here are made by mankind who are subject to the 
laws of nature. If there are any who wdll have eternal death, there 
will be but few. The just and godly are more happy in this world, 
and especially in their dying hours. Why should they not be happy 
in the next world? 

FREEDOM OF THOUGHT 

There is no freedom of thought in an orthodox church such as the 
Presbyterian. The ministers in this Church have to preach the 
theological dogmas of the Church. They are not allowed to accept 
the views expressed by public speakers if they conflict with the teach- 
ings of the Church. If they do they are likely to be expelled as heretics 
for doing their own thinking. We should be thankful that the 
sectarians in this country have no authority to put us in prison or 
condemn deserters to the stake as they have had in the past in many 
countries. Christianity is already divided against itself, and never 
can be united until all abolish it and accept godliness and the true 
teachings of Christ and all other religious teachers who taught the 
godliness and righteousness which comes from God. These teach- 
ings should be called what they are, godliness, and not Christianity, 
Mohammedism, Buddhism, or Confucianism. 

GIVING AND BEGGING 

Many who are praying most of the time are beggars. They want 
to get something for nothing and they do not want to work for it. 



FUTURE RELIGION OF THE WORLD 235 

They cannot fool God, but they may be able to impose upon their 
relatives and friends by using Christianity for that object. It is 
no pleasure, but pain, for a rich, big-hearted man to receive presents 
from his poor friends of moderate means. The greatest pleasure he 
can have is to help those who are worthy, and the poor, sick, and 
afflicted. When he does it direct, personally, he gets the real pleas- 
ure to which he is entitled; but many shun it because they are afraid 
they will get their hands soiled and be known by the worthy poor- 
We should lay something aside for a rainy day and old age. It is 
wise to make provision for the future; if we do not we may suffer, and 
it will not be God's fault, but ours. 

GOOD AND EVIL 

^ There is nothing spiritual or rational in dreams, visions, or tricks 
called miracles. Yet in the weak-minded and ignorant they create a 
faith in the being who causes them. God never reforms men by 
threats and punishments. Christians, bad men, and devils try to do so. 
God's way is by love. He gives us reason, wisdom, and liberty to choose 
between good and evil, and this must be done before the body and spirit 
separate, or it is too late. In due time the truth will be known, justice 
will prevail and be victorious over error. Then the heavens will be 
full of glory. False gods will be no more, for all will know the only 
true God, the Heavenly Spirit and Father of all mankind. We should 
not expect good eggs for bad ones, but we should be willing to return 
good for evil if it will make our neighbors better. There are no good 
reasons why we should treat evildoers better than we do our righteous 
friends. We should choose those who are good for our companions. 

When a man is sharp or cunning he is called a serpent or a fox. Some 
of the Christian Churches are very foxy in teaching their dogmas and 
raising money to carry on their work — even too much so to be right- 
eous. Some priests are called wolves because they live from the prod- 
ucts of the poor. Other priests are called lambs because they are 
gentle and kind. We find all kinds of people in the same community. 
The briars and the wheat frequently grow together. It is only the 
bills of good banks which are counterfeited. We should not think all 
men are bad in any society because some are. A tree is known by its 



236 THE BOOK OF TRUTH 

fruits; good and bad fruit grow on the same tree. Good fruit comes 
from good grafts; bad fruit from the original tree of bad grafts. 

These facts may account for some of the priests being in the graft- 
ing business. Priests have the right to retain their own sins. We 
regret that some of them do. God never interferes in such cases, but 
sometimes men do and bring the guilty ones to grief. 

GOLDEN RULE 

Christ was not the originator of the Golden Rule. It was taught 
by six other religious teachers — in other words, but with the 
same meaning. Confucius taught five hundred years before Christ: 
"What you do not wish done to yourself do not unto others." The 
Golden Rule indicates a law of justice, which is as old as the rocks and 
hills; yet the teaching of Christ as to love and mercy reaches a more 
tender place in our affection on account of his suffering. There is no 
good reason, however, why we should not have wealth, joy, pleasure, 
and a good time generally, thus making ourselves and those around 
us as happy as circumstances will allow. Those who make themselves 
and those who live near them miserable and think they are doing the 
will of God are fools or lunatics, and should be kept by themselves so 
they will not make the world worse. 

GAMBLING 

Making a living by telling fortunes, prayer, or gambling is a pro- 
fession and like a game of chance, but a poor chance for the praying 
man unless he charges for it. It is important that your subjects have 
faith or they will keep out of the game; and the only thing that will 
save their money for easily led, weak-minded incompetents and 
their families, whether it is in Wall Street or the gambling hell, is 
unbelief. 

Gamblers do not produce wealth; they only consume it, and are a 
curse to any community. A coat of whitewash in the form of prayer 
from a minister will not save the spirit of a wicked man. Prayer 
will not change the judgment of a just judge, but God may grant for- 
giveness to a penitent spirit. 

On March 28, 191 2, Standard Oil stock of Kentucky advanced five 



FUTURE RELIGION OF THE WORLD 237 

hundred points, up to $1,000 a share, then fell back to $550 per share, 
on the same day, on the curb exchange in the middle of the street 
which is provided by the City of New York free of charge to these 
gamblers, whose clients have no chance to win against the robbers 
who make the market. 

The margin gambling business on the stock exchange is a power for 
evil. The exchange is a close corporation without being incorporated, 
like all other gambling dens. Thirty-nine out of every forty who 
gamble in stocks and have not the money to pay for them or to keep 
their margin good lose their money. When you shake the dice you 
have an equal chance to win; one is gambling just as much as the other. 
When you buy dividend paying stocks for cash at their real value 
they are yours and you have no margin to lose or keep good. If the 
men who make the exchange market put it down twenty-five points 
you will receive your dividends as usual; they cannot rob you, for in a 
short time the market will recover to its real value. Most of the 
business in margins on the exchanges is transacted by paying the 
difference, which indicates it is a gamble. 

And they have a way in bookkeeping to evade laws against gambling. 
If it was not so it would require twelve times the capital to do the 
business, and some of the traders might find themselves in the peni- 
tentiary for being common gamblers. It is not safe in Wall Street to 
sell what you have not got, or to buy what you have not the money to 
pay for, which is gambling. Dividend paying stocks will in the end 
bring profit, while inflated stocks with a mere stock exchange value are 
apt to bring loss and poverty. If you speculate on the stock exchange, 
buy only what you can pay for; then wait patiently for a rise and you 
will be classed among the investors and not among the gamblers. 
When you buy future coffee or cotton on the exchanges you do not 
know what grade or quality you will get; the seller can deliver any 
grade he chooses, and the price will be according to the rules of the 
exchange. There are several grades of coffee and twenty-two grades 
of cotton, which facts are conclusive evidence that you are gambling. 
The stock, cotton, coffee, and produce exchanges are the fountain- 
heads of the gambling mania, which corrupts the nation, brings 
millions to poverty, and sets a bad example before the world. Many 



238 THE BOOK OF TRUTH : 

of the large banking houses in Wall Street do not speculate nor buy 
stocks for their customers on a margin, nor do they conduct a gambling 
business. 

DANCING 

Teaching the children to dance is teaching them good man- 
ners. Dancing is a frolic when the young have merry hearts. 
At the sound of music feet and hands keep time with it. In olden 
times dancing was a language without words, and indicated happi- 
ness, joy, and pleasure. Dancing was the custom with the earliest 
societies and identified with many forms of worship. The Hebrews 
used to have sacred dances. David danced before the ark of the 
covenant. The Maccabees instituted dances at the time the temple 
was being restored. People of the present day are still shaking their 
feet and keeping time with the music. An old Gaelic proverb says: 
"After good cheer comes dancing.'^ The Unitarians of the present 
time in some places have a prayer meeting, then close the evening's 
service with a dance. Brave soldiers in the past have danced on the 
eve of battle, which gave them courage for the conflict. Dancing 
was included in the ritual of the Egyptians in the Dark Ages. There 
used to be Catholic religious dances in Spain. Some dances among 
the French in olden times were dignified, grave, and solemn. The 
Greeks used to dance on the event of a birth, a marriage, or a death, 
and used to make the hands and feet as well as the lips speak, and 
with them it was a religious ceremonial. The Romans used to have 
their sacred dances. The priests in Paris in the Middle Ages used 
to sell dancing indulgences which used to bring in large revenues and 
enable the gentlemen to examine the goods — to see if the girl had a 
sweet breath, sound health, and if they were the right size to make a 
good wife. Salome secured the head of John the Baptist by dancing. 
The badness was not in the dancing, but in Herod the King. Danc- 
ing on any day of the week is good exercise and will lengthen the days 
of those who indulge in it; but it should not be allowed near churches 
where it disturbs worshippers on Saturdays or Sundays. We should 
remember that hugging and drinking strong liquors or other rowdyism 
is not dancing and should not be allowed in dance halls. Those who 
are good should keep away from evil company and places if they wish to 



FUTURE RELIGION OF THE WORLD 239 

avoid even the appearance of wrong doing. '^A bird is known by the 
company it keeps/' 

PROVIDE FOR THE FUTURE 

The bees, squirrels, and other animals in a cold climate look ahead 
and provide for the future. They lay in store enough food to last 
them through the cold winter. God expects us to do the same. 
When we are in the prime of life and in good health we should look 
ahead and provide for a rainy day, sickness, and old age. The Lord 
helps those who help themselves. We should not be led astray by 
Scripture writers' advice to ^^ trust in the Lord and He will pro- 
vide.'' 

This teaching has been the curse of the world. Many have suf- 
fered on account of it. It may be profitable to saloon-keepers and 
ministers to teach this doctrine so they can get our spare change, but 
humanity has to stand the loss. When ministers preach the truth 
and make you wiser and better pay them for it; but when their preach- 
ing is in the interest of the monopolist and the money power keep 
away from them and you will not be misled. Give heed to those 
who teach you how to vote for your best interest and the interest of 
your country and all of God's children. 

PUBLIC SCHOOLS 

No sectarianism should be taught in schools supported by public 
money, but we should teach in all schools justice, righteousness, 
mercy, toleration, love, astronomy, geology, the laws of nature, the 
science of government, and political economy in all its leading branches. 
Those who vote should be qualified to perform that sacred duty the 
same as national, state, city, and county officers, judges, and juries 
are. Sometimes the laboring people make a mistake by taking their 
political intelligence from the newspapers owned or supported by 
the money and monopoly power which have led many astray, so 
they have voted against the interest of their families and the govern- 
ment in which they live. Capital in many cases has kept in ignorance 
those who labor, and enabled men to acquire wealth at the expense of 
the poor and helpless, especially when laborers were not united by the 
ties of unionism. 



240 THE BOOK OF TRUTH 

RELIGIOUS LIBERTY 

If God's people did not have the liberty to choose between good and 
evil they could not be held accountable for their sins. If they have 
the right of choosing, God is not to blame for their sins and they are 
accountable to Him. 

God will never deprive us of religious liberty and freedom of the 
mind. It is only bad men who do that. If we should be roasted 
alive, the fire is not to blame. If we or some of our friends are poi- 
soned, do not blame God, but lay hold of the criminal who did it and 
punish him here in this world, for by so doing you may save the lives 
of many others, as wicked men fear the penalty of the law. 

MONOPOLY AND HONOR 

Some thieves pretend to consider it honorable to steal, murderers 
to murder for wealth, detectives and prosecuting officers to convict 
innocent men so they can establish a winning reputation among the 
people. Some ministers, also, pretend to think it is honorable to 
teach lies so they can make a good living out of their profession. 
Monopolists, who make the same pretence, raise prices and rob the 
public so they themselves can become rich. None of these things 
is righteousness. Roosevelt says, ^^The monopolist should be con- 
trolled by the Government." Yes, and just as all other criminals 
are, by putting them in the penitentiary, where they can be controlled 
with the rest of the robbers, and their ungodly business prohibited 
under penalty of imprisonment to all of those who are engaged in it. 
Consumers should have competition for their trade. 

DEVILISHNESS 

Ever since the written history of the world there has been too 
much superstition, cruel and ungodly religions, and worship of idols 
and images, resulting in the murdering of innocent men, women, and 
children in the name of these religions, and confiscating of property 
belonging to others. Priests and drones live here on the products 
and earnings of others. It is time that the people of the world 
were properly educated so that future generations will live in the 



FUTURE RELIGION OF THE WORLD 241 

age of truth, righteousness, and love to God and all mankind. 
Then vice, cruelty, selfishness, and ignorance will be abolished in 
the name of the God who created us and is able to redeem us. 
The devil offered Christ everything in this world if he would 
worship him, and Christ promised those who would worship him 
eternal life in the next world, but neither of them had anything he 
could call his own to give. It is no disgrace to be poor, but very 
inconvenient. 

DIVORCE 

To live with some women is the worst kind of torture. It is worse 
than being burned at the stake in the way the Roman Catholic 
Christians burned millions of people in the fifteenth and sixteenth 
centuries because they would not accept Christianity and be baptized. 
Burning at the stake is over in a few hours, while the other torture, 
if the Christians are allowed to have their way, is for life. We have only 
one life to live in this world; if we make a mistake and get something 
we do not want God expects us to rectify it so that we may be 
happy and enjoy this beautiful world and communion with Him 
without being tormented by any of the devil's angels which may 
lead us away from His presence. Man and wife are often di- 
vorced by death. There is no doubt that is godly. What God 
does should be lawful for men, if they do it in a righteous way. 
In many cases, divorces and re-marriage has been a blessing to the 
world. 

^' When a man hath taken a wife, and married her, and it comes to 
pass that she find no favor in his eyes, . . . then let him write 
her a bill of divorcement, and give it in her hand, and send her out 
of his house. And when she is departed out of his house, she may 
go and be another man's wife" (Deuteronomy 24:1-2). In this I honor 
Moses' judgment. The ministers may be right in thinking some of 
the laws of Moses are God's laws, but most of them do not think that 
this law is one of God's holy laws. Let us hope that Moses was not 
so bad a man as the Scriptures make him appear to be, for in this 
law he is willing that the mistakes of human beings should be recti- 
fied so they both may bring forth good fruit to the glory of God and 
all mankind. I am willing that the ministers may swallow their 



242 THE BOOK OF TRUTH 

own blue pills, but not cram them down the throats of others by a 
statutory provision. 

DUTY 

It is no crime or sin to investigate the teachings of any church. 
After doing so, if we find that a church is using a religion that is 
false and for an ungodly purpose it is a sin not to expose it. Dying 
men should not be deceived about the future life after the death of 
the body. It often happens that we have to make enemies of many 
men to do our duty to God and mankind; if so, it should not be our 
will, but ^^ Thy will be done." If our righteousness makes the ungodly 
our enemies, it will make the wise, who are just and good, our friends. 
We can do our duty to God by doing it to mankind and His creatures. 

Let thy thoughts be pure, virtuous, and just. Exercise the mind 
and body. Never neglect meditation. Cultivate the reason God 
has given you and live in such a way that you may have true knowl- 
edge, charity, love, and righteousness, and be able to impart it to 
others. To do this, we must think and reason within ourselves with 
all the ability God has given us. If we abolish selfishness, which is 
the cause of injustice, we shall be happy and make those who are 
dear to us more godlike. Thus we shall be a blessing to those who 
love us. 

CHARITY 

If we want to do something for God's cause and His children we 
will have to do it here in this world, for it is our only opportunity, 
and this day may be our last chance. We are not sure of to-morrow, 
but we expect many of them. There is nothing we can do for the 
living when we are in eternity, for it is too late. Now is the accepted 
time. We may never have another chance. Remember that it is 
the cheerful giver to a good cause who receives the bliss of eternal 
happiness. 

It is not charity to give money to drunkards who you know will 
spend it for whiskey and do their families and neighbors harm. We 
should act wisely, so that good will result from our giving. The 
best thing we can do for a poor, honest workman is to give or 
get him a position, so he will be able to earn his living and support 
his family. 



FUTURE RELIGION OF THE WORLD 243 

BADNESS 

It is the Old Testament and its teachings which are the cause of 
slavery, Mormonism, and making such men as Colonel Ingersoll 
infidels by misrepresenting the attributes of God. It is responsible 
for nations and tribes murdering each other and butchering just men, 
women, and children without cause and robbing them of their pos- 
sessions. The badness of this book never should be taught in a godly 
church or Sunday-school, but it should be cast into hell fire and the 
ashes used to fertilize the gardens of God's children. We have no 
more right to do anything bad in the name of God than we have in 
our own name. If we have the right to retain or forgive sin in the 
name of God we also have the right to rob and murder in the name of 
God, which is devilishness. 

BUNCO STEERERS 

The Roman Catholic Christian Church raises millions of dollars 
every month for the support of the Church because of its teaching and 
pretensions that the priests have the power to forgive or retain sin and 
can pray for the dead as well as the living. The Catholic Church de- 
mands that their subjects attend church once each Sunday and contri- 
bute to its support. This they cheerfully do because they have been 
taught to do so from the days of their childhood. The Christian 
Scientists have a way of their own to make a living by praying for 
the sick and afilicted and pretending to heal all manner of diseases 
by prayer and hot air from the mouth of the healer. The Protestant 
Episcopal Church prays for the dead and the living and the forgiveness 
of sin. They make no stated charge for their services, but are always 
willing to receive free-will offerings, as all godly men would be in 
their circumstances. Their object is to relieve the consciences of 
those who have sinned, and make their lives and those who are dear 
to them more happy and godly in this world, and to prepare them for 
eternity. This is a pointer to my Catholic friends so they will be 
able to get these services done by an Episcopal priest for much less 
money than they are now paying. God knows, and we should know, 
that one has just as much authority to forgive sin as the other. Dogs 



244 THE BOOK OF TRUTH 

are born blind, but it is only a short time before they ^ 'get wise" and open 
their eyes. Why should not we if we have the intelligence of a dog? 
There must be something wrong with any society when we find that 
most of our criminals are its members; but the just should not suffer for 
the sins of the unjust. 

WOMAN SUFFILA.GE 

Making voters of women is making men and soldiers of them, or 
like making oxen of cows, which used to be unlawful among the Jews. 
We cannot change gender by statutory provisions. Woman suffrage 
should be limited to a property qualification or to those who have no 
husbands, so as to avoid family troubles and ungodliness. The right 
to vote makes it a duty to vote, which is imposed upon those who have 
the privilege. 

Laws made by a majority of people who are not able to enforce 
them are apt to be a menace to the nation. It is better to have short- 
haired men and long-haired women than to reverse it. 

When the time comes that women are discriminated against and 
do not have all the rights to which they are entitled they should have 
the privilege of voting, to shoulder their guns, to blow the fife, and 
to beat the drum. 

PROVERBS 

If we have sinned against God, what right has the priest to forgive 
us — unless he is God? He does not look it or act like it. 

It is not charity when we make gifts to others and expect to reap 
more than we sow. 

Evil and good sometimes come from the same lips before the tare 
and wheat are separated. 

It is righteousness to approve of a bad man's goodness or disap- 
prove of a so-called good man's badness. 

Who knows but this present life of ours is a time of grace to choose 
our eternal place? 

A church that fears reason must be full of treason. 

There is nothing which happens without cause; it is our deeds 
that produce good or evil. 

For our existence and life in this world we are dependent on the 
heat and light of the sun. 



FUTURE RELIGION OF THE WORLD 245 

There is no resurrection of the spirit that dies; the spirit that lives 
in eternity never dies. 

God does not judge men as we do. He knows our spirit. He 
uses what some call bad men to deliver His messages to His children, 
when orthodox preachers are afraid to do so. 

We should be more careful about what we put into our head than 
our stomach. Truth is best for the former and pure food for the latter. 

We should always be ready to receive inspiration from God and 
never suppress His messages. 

It is not godliness to make the innocent suffer for the guilty; this 
is devilishness. 

If Christ had been God he would have known what we know now 
by the history of the past — that there is no resurrection of the body. 

Justice, righteousness, and the truth are better food for the intellect 
than the dogmas of a church which are not true. 

We cannot reasonably expect God or the spirits of our departed 
friends to reveal all of God's truth to us until we are willing to receive 
it and give it to the world. 

The followers of Buddha for the last eighteen hundred years have 
been more just, righteous, kind, and godlike to the animal kingdom 
than the followers of Jesus Christ. 

It is not always Christianity that makes the world better. It is 
godliness which comes from God, in Christians and others who are not 
Christians, that makes the world good, just, righteous, and godlike. 

Habits, customs, bigotry, dogmatism, or forms of service are not 
godliness. 

If everything God made is good we should try and keep it so. 

We are told that many of the stars which were worlds are no more, 
and some that were not worlds are worlds now. It is the same with 
mankind, many are no more. 

Joshua commanded the sun to stand still. Then he could not see it 
move, so he tried to start it, but it never moved since or before. 

God does not say, ''Thy will be done," but "My will," and Christ 
does not fill the bill. 

Everlasting punishment is not godliness. If it is Christianity it is 
not worth while to teach it. 



246 THE BOOK OF TRUTH 

It may be easy to make monkeys of men, but it is impossible to 
breed men from monkeys. 

No man born of woman is God, neither is our Creator a man. We 
should not take cows, horses, goats, or men for gods. 

If a devil cannot tell the truth when it is for his interest, and a 
Scripture maker cannot lie, please tell us the reason why God 's laws of 
nature are automatically enforced by nature. The laws of men if en- 
forced must be by men. 

You can smoke a coon out of a hollow tree much quicker than you 
can pray him out. Prayer should not be used for an ungodly purpose 
when smoke will answer better. 

Care for the living while they are sick in bed. But why should we 
grieve about those who are dead? 

Fertilizers will produce better crops than prayer is what the farmers 
say, because it is God 's way. 

To preach that God was made man is worse than to teach that man 
was made monkey. In the case of God the evolution is the wrong 
way, is what the wise men say. 

Why not allow the priest to take a wife so that thereafter he can 
live a virtuous life? 

Preachers have no monopoly of inspiration nor are they more godly 
than many others. If they were they would preach the truth. 

Christ had no children or a successor; if the apostles did it was after 
their death and they never knew it. 

It is foolish for preachers to spend their time trying to make Chris- 
tians out of godly men, for the material in so many cases is too valuable 
to be used for that purpose. 

We can trust God without prayer. A waiter at a hotel may favor 
us if we give him a tip, but God will not. He and nature 's laws are 
impartial. 

If I were a teacher, whenever and whatever I taught would be free 
thought. 

When clericalism is godliness call it righteousness. When it is rob- 
bery, murder, adultery, or laziness call it by its true name. 

When all Christian churches agree to preach and think alike they 
will have an automatic machine without brains called church unity. 



FUTURE RELIGION OF THE WORLD 247 

Obey the laws of nature and your days will be lengthened. 

Whom the Lord loveth He correcteth. Why should we not cor- 
rect the preachers if we have love for them and more love for their 
victims. 

Save your reputation: Do not pray for rain until the dark clouds 
begin to gather. 

A fool can have a Scriptural faith, and many of them have it, but 
only those of wisdom can have a scientific and rational belief. 

Our goodness is not indicated by the dogmas and creeds which we 
believe, but by our purity of life, unselfishness, and the good we do to 
others. 

Faith without reason may satisfy a fool, but not a wise man. 

Thirteen stars, thirteen stripes, and thirteen original states is the 
glory of America and should be the death of superstition. 

The fable of Adam and Eve should remind us of the Hindoo tra- 
dition of Adami and Heva which is not a reality, but a fable. 

When an owner of sheep leaves the ninety and nine and seeks that 
which is lost, it is because he wants to save the value of the lost sheep 
for his own sake and not for the sheep's sake. That is natural, but 
not godliness. 

If there is poison in your food or the Bible it is not God 's fault. Do 
not blame Him for it or swallow it, for it may be a trick of the devil. 

Your eternal life does not depend on what you do or do not believe; 
but the lives of those in the sixteenth century, when the Christians 
were the executioners, depended upon what they said that they be- 
lieved. 

Some of the Indians make their gods out of wood, but after they 
become decayed they throw them away and make new gods. Is it not 
strange that some of the Christians have not the instincts of an igno- 
rant Indian, but still worship a carcass? 

No dead, decayed body of any animal ever came to life again, for 
there is no germ of life in it. 

If we suffer by violating the laws of the universe it is our own 
fault. 

The theologians wrote Christ's gospel. There is no evidence that 
he knew how to write. 



248 THE BOOK OF TRUTH 

We know there is a greater being than man who communicates 
with us by our own experience. 

We have to do our own eating, drinking, sleeping, and breathing, or 
die, and we should do our own thinking to live rightly. 

Useful inventions are discovered by hard work and thinking, and not 
by idleness and prayer. 

We use the simple English language to send the truth direct to the 
intelligence and reason of men. 

God does not require us to love a man who was crucified about nine- 
teen hundred years ago more than we do our father, mother or hus- 
band, for that is not natural or according to His holy laws of nature. 

Moses' laws were made for his people. The old butcher never had 
any authority to make laws for us, and God has never enforced them 
among us. 

We brought nothing into this world, but have developed a spiritual 
body, and we expect to take with us this spiritual body, which is the 
immortal and spiritual man. 

No man hath seen God at any time (St. John i :i8), but men have 
seen Christ, which indicates that he is not God. 

Christianity is not a quack medicine to cure all the ills of mankind. 
Beware of those who use it for that purpose. Look out for your 
pocketbook. 

That which is false in due time will crumble away Hke the years 
that are past and be no more, but the truth is the Rock of Ages. 

When the light of reason appears all miracles and witchcraft dis- 
appear. Inspiration does not come from a book, but nature or 
nature's God, the fountainhead. 

It is the wisdom of God to conceal the things- which it is best we 
should not know. 

The fear of God is not fatherly love. Sin is the cause of such a 
fear. Be good and your fear will soon disappear. 

Those who love gambling, bad women, and strong drink are on the 
road to poverty. 

Whosoever marrieth a virgin of good health and wisdom findeth a 
good thing. He should thank his mother-in-law and see that she is 
provided for in her old age. 



FUTURE RELIGION OF THE WORLD 249 

The simple-minded believe all the priests preach and inherit folly 
and nonsense. The prudent and wise use their reason and are crowned 
with knowledge and the truth. 

If there were no heresy and doubt there would be no investigations 
or progress. 

A man of courage and conscience will never sacrifice his reason to 
keep on friendly terms with the priest. 

Christ's followers have tortured, persecuted and killed heretics, and 
thought they were doing God's service, but they were not. 

No government should use public money to teach sectarianism in 
any community. 

Prayer will not take the place of medicine or food. Church mice 
are generally poor. 

In this world we have one God; in eternity there may be many. 
If He is our father we take it for granted that He is married and we 
are His children. 

Christ was only known by his followers. He had to be pointed out 
when the officers of the law arrested him. Just imagine a man placing 
God our Creator under arrest! 

It does not seem to be the object of ecclesiastical courts to find out 
if the heretic is a godly man, but whether he is giving the business 
away so that the income of ministers and priests will be cut off. 

The Right Reverend Nobody said to the Right Reverend Bishop, 
*^What shall we do to be saved?" Answer, ^^ We must stick to our 
old orthodoxy, and rule with an iron rod or our occupation will be 
gone." 

St. Paul's conversion did not make him infallible. It was his 
education that made him what he was and gave him his ideas about 
women. 

Moses tells us there is only one God — He had no partners. Christ 
and the Holy Ghost are unknown quantities and should not be used 
to make our Creator a monstrosity. 

Jesus expected help from God when he said, ^^My God, why hast 
thou forsaken me?" but he did not get it, and must have realized 
that he was nothing but a man. 

When the church authorities are opposed to our investigating the 



2SO THE BOOK OF TRUTH 

doctrine they preach there must be something wrong with the church 
or they would not try to keep us in ignorance. 

It is not the nature of God to punish children unto the third and 
fourth generation for the sins of their parents. This is one of the 
mistakes of Moses. 

Many a poor snake which is a friend of the farmers by eating the 
bugs and insects which destroy the crops has lost its life through that 
story in the Bible about Adam, Eve, and the serpent. Beware of 
some of the teachings found in the Bible, for they are not godly. 

Neither our heavenly nor earthly fathers, if they are godly, ever for- 
bid us to partake of the tree of knowledge. 

Scripture writers have commenced some of their writings, saying: 
'^Thus saith the Lord," when in fact the Lord had nothing to do with 
it. Beware of fakers. Poems, fiction, and fish stories are the same 
whether we find them in the Bible or some other book. 

There is too much professionalism among the preachers. They 
are about as bad as the lawyers, but there are not quite so many of 
them in the penitentiary. 

There are no mysteries in the things that are true, but we are apt 
to find them among the things that are not true. 

The Scripture makers have tried to make the birth and resurrection 
of Christ different from that of others, but the facts are not changed 
by preaching, except in the minds of men. 

I know that Christian religious excitement at protracted meetings 
have made men and women lunatics, but it is doubtful if the same 
thing will cure them. 

What reason and the laws of nature repudiate in the Bible should 
be taken for fiction or that which is not true. 

Every man should think for himself, especially in regard to eternity 
and his future happiness, and not allow a one-idea sectarian to think 
for him. 

Beware of those who are willing to take all you have in this world 
for a promise in the next. 

Beware of those who tell you that they will cure all of your ills by 
prayer for the small price of one dollar if you will have faith in their 
works. 



FUTURE RELIGION OF THE WORLD 251 

Wicked men, turn away from your wickedness and do that which is 
right and your blessings will be increased and you will get more out 
of this world than you ever did before. 

The sciences of medicine and surgery are two of the greatest sciences 
in the world to relieve suffering humanity. It is God's will that we 
should make use of them; but not to do so in extreme cases is a sin 
against God and mankind. 

The seed of goodness should be sown in the best soil, where the 
yield will be the greatest; even if it be ten thousand miles away the 
harvest will pay. 

Flavius Josephus makes no mention of the appearance of Jesus or 
what happened to him. Saviours born of virgins were of no accoimt 
in his day. 

God knew the faith of Abraham without test. The story is a good 
one, but rough on God, who is not ignorant. 

We do not think that the ass died so Samson could have his jaw- 
bone to defend himself. 

God never gives to us the things we steal or the land we possess 
which belongs to others. 

Some things in the Bible make the world better; others make it 
worse and should be cast out. 

Mother Eddy's followers have cut the price to one dollar to pray 
for the sick, which includes hot air with every prayer. 

If thine enemy be hungry, feed him; if he be vicious, subdue him if 
thou art able to do so. Then thou may est convince him of his wick- 
edness. 

Many of the things I have written I know are not of me, for I have 
not the ability to write them without the inspiration of the God who 
made me. 

A negro was asked what God said when he asked Him for a nice 
turkey for Thanksgiving. The answer was: '' Saw wood for it." 

Our religious practice should be to do business with God and abolish 
all middlemen who have no intercourse with Him. 

Our Creator is a complete God without any additions or divisions 
of Himself with earthly creatures or heavenly spirits. 

Murderers, robbers, and ungodly men are able to make the 



252 THE BOOK OF TRUTH 

world better by getting out of it. Cannot we do better by staying 
in it? 

The Christians are still at work. They have made a God out of 
that old ghost and they now call him the Holy Ghost. 

Do not forsake God or your friends because some one has been 
lying about them to court your friendship. 

If history tells the truth, many of the ministers and priests who have 
been teaching Christianity wdthin the last fifteen hundred years were 
ignorant of godliness or were bunco steerers. 

It is a mistake to think that woman is the cause of all our sins un- 
less it is sin to bring men into the world and godliness to take them 
out. 

When bad spirits reach the stomach first and then the head they 
often cause men to commit crimes. We should beware of those we 
find in a gin mill. 

Never blame God for your wickedness. It is not His fault, but 
yours. He is not the cause of wicked wars, murders, and bad laws. 
If He was He would not hold others accountable for them. 

The trouble with many ministers is they get their information from 
sectarian colleges and other unreliable sources instead of from God. 

Christ ate with publicans and sinners and did not lose his good 
name. It is not safe, however, for ministers to do this in some places. 

The people would not have said to Pilate that the blood of Jesus 
be upon us and our children if they thought he was God. He looked 
like a man because he was a man. 

"They that are sick need a physician" (St. Matthew 9:12). Mother 
Eddy says they do not. If they get one her society loses the mighty 
dollar. 

"To-day shalt thou be with me in paradise'' (St. Luke 23:43). If 
this is so the just and unjust go to the same place. Is it possible we 
are liable to get in bad company in heaven? 

Jesus said unto him: "Why callest thou me good? None are good 
save one that is God" (St. Luke 28:19). Christ here says he is not 
God; why should we not believe him? 

Christ spoke in parables so as to make a great truth clear to his 
hearers, but was often misunderstood by his apostles. 



FUTURE RELIGION OF THE WORLD 253 

It is a belief in God, our accountability to Him, and godly teaching 
that make us just, righteous, and godly. 

Those Christians whose only way to make poor, destitute, unfor- 
tunate women virtuous and good is by fear, imprisonment, and statu- 
tory provision are pious frauds or ungodly brutes. 

The time will come when many of the ministers shall have to preach 
godliness in the name of God, and not in the name of Christ and the 
Trinity, or they will preach to empty pews. 

Most of the things which happen that are a blessing to the com- 
munity in which they occur are because they are in accord with God's 
laws of the universe, which are natural and are not a special act of 
Providence. 

Many of the ministers are not preaching the Christian dogmas as 
they used to forty years ago; they are now wise enough to say nothing 
about those dogmas which are not true. 

If the spirit of a ghost and Jesus are gods, all good spirits will be 
gods in eternity. 

The spirits of the dead are invisible to the eye. The grave cannot 
imprison them, for they are the immortal part of man. 

It is God's wish that we care for the blind, sick, and afflicted; by so 
doing we are worshipping Him. 

Those things which are revealed belong to us, but secrets belong 
to God. Mysteries which are contrary to nature and reason belong 
to the devil. 

^^If the dead are not raised, neither hath Christ been raised, and 
your faith in him is vain" (I Corinthians, i :i5-i6). This may be sad 
to the Christians, but it is true. 

^' With the heart man believeth'' (Romans 10:10). He may as well 
believe with his liver. The heart is a pump with no intelligence. I 
say imto you believe with your soul, mind, and reason, the only Rock 
of Ages and road to godliness. 

St. Paul knew no more about God and the rights of women than 
we do. His writings are no more the Word of God than some of 
mine. 

*^God cannot be tempted with evil, and He Himself tempted no 
man'' (James 1:13). Christ's prayer is an insult to God. 



254 THE BOOK OF TRUTH 

The bad spirits are like the chaff. Their only punishment is they 
will never reach the granary of God. 

Death to the body is eternal. God is the only one who can give 
to the spirit eternal life or eternal death. Let us try and make the 
spirit worth saving. 

Biblical writers have no more right to commence their writings by 
saying ^^Thus saith the Lord" or '^God spake these words saying," 
than some of us have. 

Judges make mistakes and punish the innocent for the sins of the 
guilty, but God makes no mistakes. If He punishes us it will be 
for our sins and not for the sins of Adam, Moses, or any one else. 

Religious folk are the easiest people in the world to impose upon. 
If they were not they would not believe that everything in the Bible 
is true. 

Women should repudiate the teachings of St. Paul and not keep 
their mouths closed in a godly church. They should keep away from 
priestly churches where they are not allowed to speak. 

Christ turned water into wine. The saloon-keepers turn water into 
whiskey, and the more water the better it is for those who drink it. 

God expects us to love our father, mother, wife, and children. That 
is natural if they are lovable. It is unnatural to love a dead Jesus 
who died two thousand years ago more than our father or God. 

By calling a book the Bible or the Word of God does not make it 
any better, for a book is good or bad according to what it is, and it 
may be part good and part bad. 

When we are young and in good health we should look out for a 
rainy day and provide for the future and old age. 

Those who preach the Word should be wise and qualified so they 
can live by the Word. 

A gift of God cannot be purchased with money. He is not a part- 
ner of grafters or indulgence sellers. 

''Peter and John were unlearned" (Acts 4:13), but Christians accept 
them as their teachers. Does that account for their ignorance about 
God? 

Flesh and blood or troubles and afflictions cannot enter into the 
spititual world, so please leave them behind. 



FUTURE RELIGION OF THE WORLD 255 

It is the duty of men to give to the world all things revealed to 
them in relation to God and eternity whether they want it or not. 

When the ignorant are bad, we should try to instruct them so that 
they will be good. 

The Bible is full of Jewish fables, and they should not be taken for 
facts. 

Do not condemn the church because you find bad men in it; bills 
of good banks are the only ones that are ever counterfeited. 

Scripture makers used to think that the intelligence and the im- 
mortal part of man was the heart; but there is no inspiration in that 
which was a mistake and not true. 

Paul at times was in a trance and thought he saw visions from 
heaven; even at the present time when religious excitement breaks out 
in revivals and other forms of insanity some people have visions which 
land them in the madhouse. 

Be a man and bear your own burdens, if you are able to do so, and 
not cast them upon others and make them miserable. 

We know of no one who is able to forgive sins against God but God. 
Beware of impostors who make you feel good while relieving you of 
your money. 

All the science there is to Christian Science is to make a living with- 
out work and make those who willingly give up their money happy. 

Christ never had any earthly power to stop the punishment of his 
people. Some of the priests have, but they got it from the corrupt 
politicians who wanted their votes and influence at coming elections. 

Ministers should give their people their latest messages from the 
throne. We suppose they do when they give them something two 
thousand years old. 

I hope that the readers of this book will be more righteous and 
charitable than they ever were before, and that their last days may 
be their best days. 

When the law gives us religious liberty it is no sin to take it. Heresy 
causes us to utilize the brain. The heretic investigates and searches 
for the truth with the assistance of God. 

Orthodoxy deadens the brain and adopts the opinions of ignorant 
men who died thousands of years ago. 



256 THE BOOK OF TRUTH 

When swearing and praying are only habits they should be abol- 
ished. 

The germ of the peach liveth after the body is decayed. Why 
should not the spirit of man? 

The soul and the body will never be reunited after death. A live 
spirit will never occupy or live in a corpse. 

Confucius was ignorant of dogmas. In that respect I think that 
he was wise. 

A weathervane goes with the wind. Godly men should have mod- 
eration, toleration, and firmness. 

The fruit comes from the seed; if the Catholic fruit is better than the 
Protestant the seed must be better or the soil more fertile. 

Trying to make a God in the minds of men out of a man who is 
dead is a fake business. 

Nature is impartial, which is one of the attributes of God. 

Don't be foolish and think that you have something for your money 
when you get an indulgence from the priest. Your money is only 
a contribution to the cause. 

When we abolish idleness, extravagance, rum, and priests we shall 
have made a good start toward abolishing poverty. 

When we want language without reason we can get it from the 
orthodox preachers. When we want reason without words we can 
get it from the birds. 

Most of the creeds deaden the reason and make children less intel- 
ligent and more obedient to the priests, which is ungodliness. 

There must be something wrong with the preacher when the truth 
gives him pain, so we should ask him to explain. 

The time will come when truth will reign and the sons of men will 
give light unto the world. Then ignorance and fear will disappear. 

If any one except a minister should preach what some of them do 
they would be called bunco steerers and impostors. 

The Bible says that when God made man He saw it was good; but 
man is like a good egg — if kept in a bad place too long he will be bad. 

The writings of dreamers and of ignorant fishermen and the records 
of the crimes of murderers and robbers are poor food for the minds of 
men who think for themselves. 



FUTURE RELIGION OF THE WORLD 257 

The memory, soul, and reason are like our hands and arms: they 
become stronger by using them. 

We can get money quicker by work than by prayer, unless we are 
preachers or robbers — with due respect to the preachers when they 
earn what they get. 

It ruins the judgment and is a detriment to the reason and intelli- 
gence of children to teach them the dogmas of a church which are not 
true. 

If Jesus is God's only son and his mother was a Jewess, how was it 
that he was a full-blooded Jew unless God our Creator is a Jew? 

My eyesight is bad, yet I can see the moon, stars, and sun millions 
of miles away, and around about them the immense space for the 
spirits of our departed race. 

If some of the men whom I have seen are in the image of God 
He must look like the devil, which I am unwilling to believe even if I 
find it in the Bible. 

If it requires images to worship saints, the Virgin Mary, or Jesus 
Christ as a reminder of them, we should try to find the real God and 
worship Him. 

The lost son is one of Buddha's parables about five hundred years 
before Christ, which indicates his disciples were looking for the lost 
sheep. 

If goodness means only confirmation to the requirements of the 
church the ungodly may fill the bill. 

Gamblers produce nothing. One man's gain and pleasure is another 
man's loss and sorrow. The business is detestable. Nor does the 
place where it is done make it any more honorable. 

Christ is not a creator, and this is positive proof that he is nothing 
more nor less than a man. 

God is not like a weathercock which changes with the wind, but 
He is unchangeable. 

^^ My God, why hast thou forsaken me? " This is the cry of a man 
whom the Roman Catholic Church says is God. 

The spirit, the immortal part of man, is that which never dies. 
It is like the face of God, which has never been seen by mortal eyes. 
We know it exists if we are wise. 



2S8 THE BOOK OF TRUTH 

What they used to call miracles in the Dark Ages we now call 
myths, delusions, illusions, or black art. 

If '^The Book of Truth" does not set the world thinking, God only 
knows what will, and may His will be done. 

Those who worship Christ as God are godless and are worshipping 
an idol. God is a Supreme Being, a Creator who was not born of, but 
created, woman. 

God gives us religious liberty. When a nation or church denies 
us this privilege it is ungodly. 

The Jews were looking for a Christ to save them in this world and 
vanquish their enemies, and had practically no thoughts about the 
next. 

When we make something out of nothing it cannot be very valu- 
able unless we can swindle some one with it. 

The real success in preaching Christianity is to get folks to believe 
you are allowed in your church to preach the truth, and are doing it. 

Thus saith the Lord, ^' Why call ye Christ God? He never created 
anything. He was only a man and was full of egotism. " 

There is a preacher in Greater New York they call a canon. I 
suppose that is because he shoots off his mouth so much. 

Christ 's way to make the people better is by teaching them right- 
eousness and love, not by torture and imprisonment for minor offences. 

It is far better to be disappointed before death than afterward, if we 
expect something glorious which is impossible. God never repented, 
for He has never done anything for which to repent. 

I wonder whom the Scripture makers took for God? I suppose 
some man born of woman. 

The greatest liars and the most deceptive people in this world are 
those who preach that everything in the Bible is the Word of God, and 
use it for a selfish purpose to teach man to believe something not true. 

Priests and infidels, say what you will, we believe in our Heavenly 
Father still. 

Gods are not made of wine and bread, gold and silver, or rum and 
molasses. 

We only have the word of those who claimed to have dreams, visions, 
and manifestations from God; but when some of them are revealed 



FUTURE RELIGION OF THE WORLD 259 

to our reason we think they must have come from the devil or been 
caused by poor whiskey. 

Moses' method of putting evil away was by killing human beings, 
which is not Christ's or God's way. The state should only do it 
to protect the lives of the living. 

There is no use in praying to God to lead us not into temptation, for 
He never does. It is the devil and bad company which do that. If 
we do not have any worse company than God we shall be good. 

When we are in deep water and expect to drown we are not looking 
for a dead Messiah to save us, but a live man who can swim. 

There will never be an end to the world, for it is round and will al- 
ways remain so. 

One church to preach godliness is better in a small village than five 
to preach sectarianism. 

My experience tells me that a liver pill will operate much quicker 
than a prayer, and is a better remedy for biliousness. 

It is a good thing to give thanks imto God and ask Him to be merci- 
ful unto us; but we must do our part and be just if we expect Him to 
do His. 

Some of the preachers when they go out calling carry their prayers 
in their head, while others carry theirs in their pocket or hand. When 
you carry them in your head you are not so apt to leave them at home. 

The Biblical history of murderers, robbers, confiscators, and tortur- 
ers will not improve the morals of future generations. Why not blot 
them out and give the world something better? 

Moses slew an Egyptian and hid him in the sand. Moses mar- 
ried the daughter of a priest, but the priests have no daughters now- 
adays whom they can call their own. This is no improvement to the 
morals of the church. 

^^Thou shalt not kill!" (Exodus 20:3.) Moses was a murderer 
and was the cause of slaughtering millions of human beings. Do you 
think that God selected such a man to make our laws for us? I 
think not. 

^^The Sabbath was made for man, and not man for the Sabbath" 
(Mark 2 127). All days are God's days, made for man's use and com- 
fort. 



26o THE BOOK OF TRUTH 

^^ Wherefore, it is lawful to do well on the Sabbath Day" (St. 
Matthew 12:12), and have a good time by taking exercise; but nothing 
is said about its being a day of worship. 

The whey from the cheese factory is improved by mixing in a little 
ground feed. So is old-fashioned Christianity by mixing in a little 
godliness. 

In the days of the apostles the preachers were of no burden to the 
people; they worked and earned their living as the Quakers do now. 
We should pay them if they will try to preach the truth, but give 
them nothing for nothing. 

God never expects his children to suffer bodily harm from the un- 
godly when they are able to defend themselves. 

About the only time some people worship God is on Thanksgiving 
Day. Then they seem to realize their mistake, and think how foolish 
it is to thank Jesus Christ for the bountiful harvests and gifts of 
God. 

After the death of the body the spirit has no use for it, and for all 
eternity the former is spiritless. 

Christ had nothing to do with the writing of the New Testament. 
He never knew that there was such a thing, for it was written long 
after he was dead. 

God had nothing to do with the writing of the Old Testament. It 
was written by men who were Jews, and He is not accountable for it 
any more than He is for other historical books written now. 

Stale news which was gotten from dreamers and those who had 
visions when they were asleep after eating mince pies, thousands of 
years ago, is of no use to us. 

It is hard work for a Christian minister to give his people a message 
from God when he has no message from Him, but when he does the 
best he can so as not to disappoint them they should accept it with 
thanks by putting into the contribution box a piece of silver. 

All animals, birds, and insects act according to nature until they are 
domesticated by man. If man is able to make some of them good, 
how much more is he able to make mankind good without using a 
dummy for a God. 

Maltreat or despise no one on account of his color or nationality. 



FUTURE RELIGION OF THE WORLD 261 

Remember that we are all of the same species, and children of the 
same Creator. 

In the spiritual world they have no use for policemen, hangmen, or 
constables, neither for a hell, for those who should live in such a place 
will not be there. 

When Christ was tempted of the devil why did he not make the 
attempt to convert the latter if no job is too great for a Christian to 
undertake? 

Do not accuse your Heavenly Father of bringing into the world a sin- 
ful child for the purpose of giving the priests a job to make him good. 

If you should wake up in the morning with a headache do not think 
it was caused by your neglect to say your prayers. It is more apt to be 
that you ate too much and made a hog of yourself so as to get the 
better of your poor boarding-house keeper. 

There can be no punishment of the body after death, for no one 
can punish the dust of the earth. 

We have now the same kind of beings which were called angels and 
prophets in Biblical times. We also have the other kind called devils. 

Spirits of little or no intelligence or godliness will be of no more 
account in eternity than they are here. 

^^ There is no respect of persons with God" (Romans 2:11-12). If 
this is true, how can Christ be God? He had his friends and favorites. 

Never pluck out your eye, cut off your hand, or endure bodily pain 
in any way to please God, for He requires nothing of the kind. He 
knows that we have troubles and afffictions enough in this world and 
He does not expect His children to bring afSiction upon themselves, 
but to obey His laws of nature and prevent trouble. 

Christ never wrote a word of the New Testament, and the Scriptures 
say he was unlettered. There is no evidence that he knew how to 
write; but he knew how to talk, and his disciples thought that he was 
wise. 

There is no doubt in my mind that the Christian Bible has been 
juggled so as to make it more useful to that institution called the 
church. 

God never made men liars, robbers, or murderers. If they are such 
now they were not when they were born, butfhave been made so by 



262 THE BOOK OF TRUTH 

bad and wicked people. Neither we nor God can make people wicked 
and still be good. 

Christ made a mistake in wearing long hair, according to St. Paul, 
who said it is a dishonour. I think Jesus made a mistake when he 
allowed a woman to wipe his feet with the hair of her head. No gen- 
tleman would allow such a thing nowadays and I don't think Christ 
did. 

It is not God's fault because Cain slew Abel, or because Solomon 
had so many wives, or because men make slaves of others. It is the 
fault of mankind. 

When I reach the spiritual world if I do not find all good men there 
I shall be looking around for a cooler climate because I shall be afraid 
that I have gotten into the wrong place. 

It is not righteousness to punish one criminal for an offence and 
let others go unpunished for the same offence because they have 
wealthy fathers or good mothers. The one who has not had these 
blessings should have the sympathy of the just judge if he is a friend 
of humanity. 

Nature is still bringing children into the world, born of real virgins, 
but only in nature's way. There is no mystery about it. 

^^Many bodies of the saints which slept arose and came out of the 
grave after his resurrection" (St. Matthew 27:52-53). That is not 
true; if the Bible is false in one thing it is false in all. That is the 
rule with all just judges. 

When a little child is hurt, she cries and the blood rushes to the 
head, but when the mother tells her that it will do her no harm, that 
she will be all right soon, she stops crying, because she has faith in her 
mother and is not frightened. This shows what influence mind has 
over matter. 

Children love their mothers, the sheep loves its lamb, the dog 
loves its master, horses love those who are kind and lovable to them. 
They have these instincts when they are born, and we should culti- 
vate them, for true love comes from God. 

God will never punish the spirits of His children for the sins of 
Adam or any one else. Scripture makers are liars. 

The weak of this world have often been chosen to confound the 



FUTURE RELIGION OF THE WORLD 263 

strong and mighty. It is the message which is the light of the world 
and not the messenger, your humble servant. 

Those who teach godliness, which comes from God, should give 
Him the credit, and not give it to Buddha, Christ, or Henry VII, 
for to do the latter is robbery. 

The Scripture maker who wrote that the rabbit and the hare chew 
the cud did not know any better, but God did. 

Do not allow the priest to stand between you and your wife, or 
extract money from your pockets through fear of hell. Priests can 
do you no good or harm. 

The President of the United States asks us once a year to meet in 
our places of worship and thank God for His blessings. God does 
not ask us to do it; He takes it for granted. 

We cannot make a man out of a woman by prayer or by putting 
her in trousers and cutting short her hair. Short hair is more sanitary 
than long. Filthy long hair will carry the germs of disease and has 
caused the death of many. 

Christ followed fifteen others who claimed to be the Messiah, and 
lost his life. Why should others try the adventure? 

It is more sinful to bring diseased children into the world who will 
be a curse to themselves and others than it is to breed diseased cows 
and goats. 

Combinations or laws to rob others from competition for trade is 
ungodly. Imprisonment will stop it, and will be a blessing to the la- 
bouring classes. 

Christ promises everlasting life to those who believe in him, which 
is a barter business, and damnation to those who do not, which is 
ungodliness. 

God has the same creative power now that he had millions of years 
ago. The intelligence is not in the earth, clouds, sun, planets, or 
the machinery of the heavens, but in the God who created all these 
things. 

Pope Pius X showed his righteousness in ordering a second-class 
funeral for his sister, which indicated that he was impartial and 
godlike according to the holy laws of nature. Peace be to his soul. 

Christ has no more to do with our eternal life than millions of others 



264 THE BOOK OF TRUTH 

who have died in the past. A faith in him is worthless, but faith in 
God is glorious. 

The evil in the Bible is like the evil and false in other books. It 
must go and give place to the truth and refinement. 

There are many things in the Bible that ministers are ashamed to 
read to their congregations. They select here and there a mouthful, 
like an old cow out to pasture. 

When preachers select hymns which misrepresent the truth to be 
sung in the church they are false teachers. 

No children or any of the animals are brought into the world by 
prayer, for that is not God's way. Do not believe what liars say. 

Do not make yourself miserable to please the priest. It is far better 
to be happy and please your Heavenly Father. 

God cannot be tempted by prayer to grant us favors which He 
does not grant others. 

Prayer will not save the life of a starving dog, but food generally 
will without prayer. 

Nature never refused to bring the offspring of any animals into the 
world because they were not married; nature is impartial and godlike. 

When drunkenness, idleness, monopolists, and priests are abolished 
eighty-five per cent, of poverty will disappear, and happiness will take 
its place. 

It is happiness to the godly to expose frauds and false teachers and 
reveal the truth to dying humanity. 

It is no sin to be a unitarian or a humanitarian. It is more likely 
to be a sin not to be one, and instead worship a carcass for a living God, 
our Heavenly Father. 

While the ministers preach dogmas and a religion which is not true, 
how can they expect to make the people who do their own thinking 
good or bring them to believe the doctrines preached? 

If God is willing and anxious to forgive our sins what's the use of 
paying the priests for pretending to do it, and taking the chances of 
eternal death? 

It is better to trust in God, for His mercy endureth forever, than 
in a dead Messiah whose body is now the dust of the earth and who 
had no conception of a spiritual life after the death of the body. 



FUTURE RELIGION OF THE WORLD 265 

Cows are not born of goats, horses are not born of swine, buffaloes 
are not born of sheep, dogs are not born of hens — neither are gods 
born of women. 

Men thousands of miles apart can talk to each other by the use 
of the sound waves of the atmosphere which we breathe. The mes- 
sages I give unto you indicate from whence they came, whether they 
are of me or a higher power than the dust of the earth. 

The most reasonable way to account for Christ's unnatural birth, 
resurrection, ascension, and egotism is that the Cathohc theologians 
who wrote the New Testament were liars. 

To make one man suffer for the sins of others is not righteousness 
or godliness, but Christianity and ungodliness. 

It is not natural or godly for a good child to love a dead Christ 
whom he never saw more than his kind father or mother. It is 
egotism to teach such nonsense. 

It is selfish and unjust for the people of a nation to make the poor, 
suffering humanity of the world pay their national taxes by an export 
or import duty on the necessities of life. 

The New Testament contains things we know are not true, and con- 
tradicts the laws of nature and God's holy laws of the universe. 
These facts condemn it as a fraudulent publication, and the Scripture 
makers are responsible for it. 

There are no marriages in heaven; dead people never marr}^ or 
make mistakes. They are the only persons who are infallible and 
cannot sin or suffer pain or affliction. 

Industries which are not self-supporting and require the people to 
be taxed forty per cent, on such goods as they manufacture for their 
support, by an import duty, are not producers of wealth, but absorbers 
of it, and such a tax is unjust. 

Justice, righteousness, and good government should be more dear 
to honest voters than robbers, monopolists, party loyalty, and grafters. 

When political parties will not abolish monopolies, plunderers, and 
unjust taxes, and give the people competition for their trade, they should 
be abolished and new parties should be founded to take their place. 

A vice or bad habit which cannot be abolished because it is nature 
and natural should be regulated by law in the interest of humanity. 



266 THE BOOK OF TRUTH 

The sole right to manufacture patented articles, which makes for 
a monopoly, should be regulated by Congress and the courts so that 
one man will not be allowed to rob the millions. Such robbing is 
ungodly. 

We do not need indulgence from a priest to do right. They have no 
authority from God to grant us indulgences to do wrong, so we should 
use our money to provide for our families as godly people should. 

There should be an international court where the people of all 
nations are represented according to their population to settle disputes 
between nations and rebellions in nations so that righteousness will 
prevail. The decisions of such a court should be enforced by the 
armies and the navies of the world, to the glory of God and human- 
ity. _ 

It is not prayer. Mother Eddy, or Jesus Christ that cure the sick, 
but nature's laws and our obedience to them (by being careful what 
we eat and drink), good care, and the skill and experience of the 
physician who assists nature. 

God never required any one to die for our sins nor will He accept 
a substitute for He is a just God and impartial. Those who wrote 
the Bible did not write ^^The Book of Truth." 

It is a sin to bring diseased, unhealthy children into the world 
knowingly. If we cannot produce healthy offspring it is our duty to 
God and humanity to leave it to others who can. 

If your only hope of eternal life depends on the birth, resurrection, 
and ascension of Christ as recorded in the Bible it is worthless; if it 
is in God our Creator it is glorious. 

God does not require us to go to church to pray or a horse to go to 
the barn to eat hay. 

Elephants, monkeys, horses, dogs, goats, oxen, and many of the 
lower animals understand our signs and language better than we do 
theirs, but that does not indicate that they are wiser than we who 
are their teachers. 

The murders, wickedness, ungodliness, and evil deeds of men should 
not be called the ^^ Providence of God'' for it misrepresents His attri- 
butes and is a sin against the Deity. 

Laws of men are ungodly which prohibit divorces and refuse to 



FUTURE RELIGION OF THE WORLD 267 

permit divorced people to marry, and require them to live with a 
diseased person by whom they are apt to bring offspring into the world 
who will be diseased and a curse to themselves and others. 

The priests and preachers should know they cannot abolish the 
laws of nature by preaching or statutory provisions, and it is their 
duty to try to make the world better by teaching the truth and our 
duty to God and mankind. 

If it was Christianity to bring Christ into the world in the way he 
was, born of a virgin, it is also Christianity to bring others into the 
world in the same way. If it is not godliness why should we worship 
his mother or an illegitimate child as our God and Creator? 

We cannot make God man or man God by teaching and preaching. 
Our sins and the truth will be found out, and our ignorance and selfish 
sins will find us out. 

It is not home rule the people of New York City need most, but 
national and state protection against home robbers and combines, 
such as the title guarantee, life and fire insurance companies, and 
others that are monopolies and rob those who have homes. 

It is ungodly for a nation to protect combines and monopolies 
which are robbing its subjects by advancing prices. They should be 
punished the same as other robbers, by imprisonment. 

Government should relieve labor by abolishing monopolies. Only 
a barbarous nation will cast the burden of taxation upon the poor 
to please selfish producers. 

Taxation should be in proportion to property. When it is on the 
necessities of life it is ungodly and a sin against those who are of mod- 
erate means. 

Commerce is a missionary to civilize the world and is preventive 
of famine and war when carried on by righteous people. 

Thomas Jefferson said that Christ's parentage was obscure, his 
education nil, and that his life and teachings were written by igno- 
rant men who wrote from memory long after the transactions had 
passed. 

If any of the teachings of Buddha, Confucius, Mohammed, or Jesus 
are not righteous, or if anything in the Bible is not true, it is godliness 
to let the world know it. 



268 THE BOOK OF TRUTH 

It is wrong for a country to prohibit its people from buying food, 
clothing, and the necessities of life from other nations by an import 
tax, which prevents laborers from competing with the markets of the 
world and being a blessing to humanity. 

It is righteousness for a government to have a police and military 
force, and an army and navy strong enough to protect the lives and 
property of its subjects, because it promotes justice. 

It may be Christianity to teach the people to let the dead bury the 
dead; but they cannot do it, and it is not sanitary or godliness. 

Nature's way to make men virtuous is to allow them to marry. 
Priests and ministers are no exception to the rule of God's holy laws 
of nature. 

The wisest men in the world nowadays are not gods; neither were 
they in the Dark Ages. Those who think they are gods must be a 
'4ittle off" or else they have been wrongly instructed by religious 
teachers. 

According to some of Christ's teachings the Jews and those who 
believe in Buddha, or even in God, shall not be saved unless they 
believe in Christ, which is some of the most ungodly teaching ever 
taught by any leading religious teacher. 

Jesus Christ and the Holy Ghost are no more a part of God than 
I am or any of the rest of God's children. 

The gospel of ^'The Book of Truth" is the Saviour of the godly, 
Jews and all, the nations and kingdoms of the world wherever it is 
preached and believed. If we are just and righteous we will have a 
living and dying faith in God the only Saviour of the world. 

There is no evidence that those poor, ignorant fishermen who were 
Christ's apostles knew how to write. They must have been different 
from other men, to have been able to write their part of the New 
Testament about three hundred and fifty years after they were 
dead. 

The Bible was written by thirty-five different writers. It contains 
fifty-six different pamphlets, which were bound together by the binder. 
The straw and chaff should be separated from the wheat before it is 
fed to God's children; as it is now, nothing but a jackass or the other 
lower animals can swallow all of it. 



FUTURE RELIGION OF THE WORLD 269 

The finding by recent excavations in the Holy Land of millions of 
bones of human beings in an old cemetery, thirty miles long, that 
have been buried five thousand years, indicates that there is no resur- 
rection of the body, and that the story of Jesus' virgin birth, resurrec- 
tion, and ascension is a fable — that a dead Christ is no substitute for 
a live God. 

It is not the book of truth that teaches anti-godliness; it is infidels, 
the Scripture makers, and the Roman Catholic Church, which handed 
down to us the New Testament. 

The only way we can make room in the Christian Church for science 
and the truth is to drive out of the Church false dogmas and ungodly 
preachers. 

The Jews and the followers of Buddha and Confucius are not 
Christians, but yet they are godly people; which indicates that if 
Christianity is abolished that the world will not go to the devil. God 
still lives. 

The real God is not a briber. He offers us no inducements in this 
world to worship Him. It is only false gods, devils, and Christians, 
who make such offers. 

When we know spirits of the dead are not mothers, we can take it 
for granted that they are not fathers, and that the Scripture makers 
who make them such are liars. 

When a Christian society called a church will boycott manufacturers 
and merchants until they contribute thousands of dollars toward the 
support of the institutions of their church, it is time the people 
abolished that kind of Christianity. 

The authorities of the Roman Catholic Church used to grant, for 
money, indulgences to men to murder their wives and for wives to 
kill their husbands, but that is not original Christianity. 

Going backward to the Dark Ages and believing the dogmas of the 
Christian Church may mean being born again, but it is not progressive- 
ness, reason, common sense, or godliness. 

If we are able to make people good by teaching them to believe 
in Buddha, Christ, or other religious teachers, we should be more suc- 
cessful in teaching them to believe in God, the Creator of the uni- 
verse. 



270 THE BOOK OF TRUTH 

Do not be afraid to reject a human assertion because you find it 
in the Bible. We should be guided in our religion by observation, 
experiment, common sense, and reason, the same as we are in our busi- 
ness. 

Christ in his country was not allowed to teach publicly his gospel. 
The penalty for doing so was death. It was the Scripture makers 
who made him a great preacher after he was dead, and the priests 
who made a god of him. 

Women and aliens do not need the right to vote in a country where 
they are not discriminated against, and have equity and righteous- 
ness. 

Methuselah, or no other human being since the creation of the 
world, ever lived to be nine hundred and sixty-nine years old of our 
calendar years. The impartiality of God and the history of the past 
repudiates this story. 

If a priest robs people, call him a robber. If he swindles them, 
call him a swindler. If he murders them, call him a murderer, the 
same as you would any bad man, because it is godlike to be im- 
partial. 

God does not grant special dispensations to those who pray or 
pay for them, because God is righteous and impartial. If the priests 
pretend to, they must be ungodly. 

The Bible is no more rehable in regard to the attributes of God, 
the resurrection and ascension of Christ, the Trinity, or the rights of 
women, than it is in regard to astronomy, geology, creation, or the 
habits of rabbits. 

When business men are afraid that they will lose trade and their 
reputations if they expose or offend religious frauds, they should first 
establish a character so their business will increase and their name may 
become immortal. 

Our selfish prayers have no effect on God, nature, or the laws of 
the universe. Yet we know they have an effect on mankind. The 
more ignorant they are, the more effect prayer has. 

Jesus Christ did not have the intellect of a William Shakespeare or 
a Thomas Jefferson. It is doubtful if any of the men of Christ's 
time did. 



FUTURE RELIGION OF THE WORLD 271 

Jesus Christ was no more conceived by the Holy Ghost than Wil- 
liam Shakespeare's first-born child, which was no mystery in either 
case to those who knew the facts. 

There is more intelligence in the world now than there ever was 
before. We know more about God and can make everything better 
than the people could in the days of Moses or Christ. 

If we do not have pleasure and righteousness in this world, it is 
not God's fault; it is ours, or the fault of others, and we cannot rea- 
sonably expect God to make it good. 

The laws of nature do not discriminate between the good and the 
bad; they are the same to all mankind. Which indicates they are 
the same in the spiritual world. Be good and obey nature's laws and 
the reward is yours. 

A sufficient quantity of oil and coal lands should be owned by the 
government so as to protect its people from monopoly. In the 
interest of mankind, the amount of land owned by individuals, firms, 
associations, and corporations should be limited to a reasonable num- 
ber of acres. 

We came not into the world to save the dead, but to help the liv- 
ing so that they might have pleasure, justice, righteousness, and the 
love for each other which the Father has for His children. 

We have heard it reported that one of the ancient popes was the 
father of two children, born of different virgins and conceived by the 
Holy Ghost, in the same way as all children are in such cases. 

We know of no good reason why the wild animals of the forest, or 
the savage Indians, should own all the unimproved land of a great 
country and be allowed to hold it forever, because their ancestors 
were born first. 

Sometimes a godly nation has to have war with wicked, ungodly 
people, to procure permanent peace, justice, and righteousness for its 
subjects. 

SUBJECTION 

When the priests make a mistake and bind on earth those who 
should not be bound in heaven, or loose those who should be bound in 
heaven, of course, if they have this power, God would have to sub- 
mit to it, which would be news to Him, as well as to us. Such a 



272 THE BOOK OF TRUTH 

usurpation is a sin. It makes no difference if they got it from the 
Bible, the devil, or Jesus. It does not change the facts. When they 
use it to keep their subjects in fear and subjection it is a crime against 
God. In this nation the priests have no power to remit the penalties 
of convicted criminals. If this is just why should God give them the 
authority to do so in His kingdom? 

ETERNITY 

All that we know of God or the secrets of the spiritual world is that 
which is revealed in nature, the history of the past, the loving kind- 
ness and bountiful blessings we have received, and the faith and in- 
spiration which come to us through the reason and intelligence which 
God has given us. That which is not revealed to us it is best that 
we should not know until our spirits are with our Creator from whence 
they came. If the soul is immortal how can it die on account of the 
sins of the flesh, which are mortal. God needs no assistance from 
any human being to give His children eternal life or death. He 
never tempted them or made them sinners. We do not care what the 
Scripture makers said two thousand years ago. Our knowledge is of 
a later date. It is absurd to accuse a just God of committing sins. 
It is bad men, women, and children who make good children bad. 
God wants us to keep our children as good as they were when they were 
born. We should educate them in a righteous manner and develop 
in them a godly spirit which will be worthy of eternal life with Him in 
the heavenly home prepared for us before our fathers and mothers 
were, way back in the days of the rock of ages. After the death of 
our body in this world we have no more use for the priest or a dead 
Messiah than we have for the doctor, grocer, druggist, or butcher. 
The God who brought us into this world we can trust to care for us 
in the next. It is His business to do for us only the things we cannot 
do for ourselves. It is our duty and the duty of the churches to 
care for humanity while here on earth; to see that the needy are fed, 
housed, and clothed, and that they are taught righteousness, dealt 
with justly, and receive the fruit of their labor. We must also see to 
it that the burdens of the rich are not cast upon the poor and afflicted 
as they are in the United States by taxation caused by ungodly 



FUTURE RELIGION OF THE WORLD 273 • 

teaching in the newspapers, and by ministers who are supported by 
selfish rich people. 

The dead cannot come to us, but we may go to them. We have to 
die to do so; that is the reason most of us are in no hurry about it. Let 
us take our time and finish our work here if we are allowed to do so, 
before we start on the journey from whence no traveler ever returns. 
Mind and matter exist in a live body; but when the body is dead there 
is no soul or mind in it and it exists only as matter. That which 
is more important to us is, does the soul and reason still exist separate 
from the body as the invisible, immortal part of man? If there 
is no reason or intelligence in the spirit after the death of the body it 
may as well be eternally dead as to have eternal life. Those who live 
a godly, righteous life will have eternal life if any one does. We do 
not care what moneymakers who live by their profession say, for 
we know God's way. The honey bees build cells of wax, make honey, 
and store it so as to provide themselves with food for the coming 
winter. They are too wise to accept the teachings of the Scriptures 
and not to lay up food or treasure for the future. They do not ex- 
pect God to do for them what they should do for themselves. They 
work for what they get and are not like Christians — foolish enough 
to pray for it. There is no way-station between this earth and 
eternity; neither is there any place to build one. The body when 
dead has no spirit or reason any more than a stone, and the spirit is 
with God. The place between this earth and heaven is called nowhere, 
and there is no one there. We know God is righteous. If the just 
do not get their reward for goodness in this world does it not indicate 
there is a hereafter where they will get it? The spirit of God lives 
forever. Why should not the spirit of His children? God cares for 
us in this world. Why should He not in the next? There are no 
greater crimes that man can commit than to mislead others in regard 
to their future destiny. Those who do it for a money consideration 
are like the drones among the bees. They are living at the expense 
of others and are giving fraudulent titles to an inheritance which 
they do not possess in eternity. We should comfort the dying with 
the truth: That the God who made them will care for them; that 
there is no more suffering or sorrow in eternity; that all is well, for 



274 THE BOOK OF TRUTH 

with the death of the body the spirit is with God and the loved ones 
who have gone before, in bliss and happiness. If the spirit dies and 
returns to mother earth with the body that is the last of it. There 
can be no more life in it. Sad but true. We know the body decays; 
and our hope is that the spirit never dies, but returns to God, who 
gave it. If the germ of life, the spirit, is good it liveth and hath 
everlasting life, which is our reasonable faith. 

When a man dies there is no life or germ of life in the body, like a 
grain of wheat or kernel of corn, to produce another body. Neither 
will any seed, if the germ is dead, produce another body like its own. 
No decayed body ever came to life again or ever will. The preaching 
that the spirit and the body will again be reunited is nonsense and an 
imposition on the mourners, and should be of no comfort to them. 
The history of the world, God^s laws of nature, and our reason tell 
us there cannot be a resurrection of a decayed body. We should not 
expect it or want it. We should desire, rather, a spiritual body that 
never dies, and lives without earthly food, disease, troubles, or afflic- 
tions in the spiritual world with the dear ones who have gone be- 
fore. After we are dead neither Christ nor any one else who ever 
lived in the flesh can do anything which will give us eternal life. If 
we are to have it after the death of the body it must come from a 
Higher Being than man, and be a spiritual life. 

ETERNAL LIFE 

My dear friends, you will never have eternal life through the merits 
of your father, mother, Jesus Christ, or any one else. It must be 
through your own merits. If there is a personal accountability, the 
goodness of the just is not an offset to the sins and wickedness of the 
ungodly. There is hope for those who have sinned if they will try to 
make their goodness greater than their badness and live a godly, sober, 
righteous life to the glory of God. 

A kernel of wheat or corn is buried in the ground and it dies and is no 
more; but the germ liveth and bringeth forth fruit after its kind. 
With man, his body dies and it is no more ; but the spirit never dies. It 
lives after the death, and without the body by the grace of God, who 
lets us take the right or wrong road without any interference from 



FUTURE RELIGION OF THE WORLD 275 

Him, and we must abide by our own choice. No preacher ever had 
the power to give eternal Hfe or keep God's children out of heaven. 
Those who say they have such power, in the words of the Scriptures, 
^^are liars and the truth is not in them. '' So put your hope in God. 

The germ of the peach is not in the tree after it is dead or in the 
fruit after it is devoured, but in the stone, separate from the rest, 
which still lives. So it is with the spirit of man — an intelligence 
which never dies nor can be destroyed by demons. God's gospel of 
humanity did not require a man to be minrdered for us in this world so 
that we might have eternal life. No one born of woman ever had power 
to give to mankind eternal life in this world or in the next. The 
priests have no more to do with it than the sheep or the goats. It is 
a usurpation of God's intelligence to pretend to do it. We have as 
much power to give the priests eternal life as they have to give it to us. 
How could Christ have freely laid down his life for a fallen world 
when he said, ^^If it is possible, let this cup pass from me?'' He sub- 
mitted to the cross when he knew that he had to do so. 

FUNERAL 

After my spirit has left the body I do not expect to attend my own 
funeral, and my friends should not expect me there. All they will see 
of me is the matter which I will leave behind, which is of the earth 
earthy, and will be of no future use to me in eternity. 

It is not the house which I lived in that is lovable, but the soul 
spirit which was developed in the house and cannot live in a dead 
body, but still lives and is on the other shore with all the live spirits 
which have gone before. 

THE BODY 

This earthly body of ours is a house to develop our spirit. We 
should keep it clean, healthy, undefiled; protect it from abuse, crime, 
evildoers, and ungodliness so as to prolong its life for the good of the 
community in which we live. It is not wholly ours. When it is 
filthy, diseased, corrupt, and uninhabitable its life will be shortened, 
the spirit will leave it, and it will be no more; but let us try and have a 
good body so as to develop a good spirit fit for the kingdom of God. 
There is no knowledge, reason, wisdom, or intelligence in a dead body 



276 THE BOOK OF TRUTH 

any more than there is in a stone, but there was when it was alive. 
The tomb is empty, the bird has left its nest. Perhaps she has gone to 
a warmer climate, but let us hope for the beit. 

DEATH 

No one knows when he dies any more than he does when he goes to 
sleep. If he dies a natural death, just before he leaves this world he is 
willing, waiting, and anxious to depart and meet the loved ones who 
have gone before. Man cannot kill or punish the spirit. We can 
only see it in imagination, for it is invisible to the eye. The only 
punishment there can be to the spirit is eternal death, so it will be no 
more after the death of the body. There is no place of torment or 
hell in the spiritual world. The only punishment for the wicked 
after death is a dead spirit in a dead body. Heaven is only another 
name for the spiritual world. We like the name, for it indicates a godly 
place where our spirits will meet the spirits of the just and righteous 
of this w^orld. Those who love not God their Creator know Him not. 

No minister can detain our spirit after the death of the body in 
his imaginary smelting works until he gets a share of our estate. We 
cannot commit sins after we are dead; neither will it do us any good 
for the priest to pray for us or the doctor to give us medicine, for it is 
too late to swallow it. We go to bed when we are tired and soon go to 
sleep, because we need sleep — that is nature. Sleeping is Hke dying, 
and it is as easy to die as rolling off a log w^hen we are asleep; but look 
out for the place of landing after death. There is no more pain; to be 
with God is our gain. It is for the best that we know not the future 
until we reach eternity. It is unreasonable for us to want to see our 
children before they are born; let us wait patiently until God's ap- 
pointed time. We have the favor of God; we never needed a Jesus 
to die for us before w^e were born. It is only a matter of time. We 
will have to die for ourselves, as Jesus did. 

When we take the last look at the remains of our dear ones and then 
deposit it in the earth, mourn not; the spirit is not dead, for it is that 
which is godly and lovable, and it still lives and may comfort us 
while we remain here on earth, and wiU be waiting to greet us in the 
eternal city. God wills that the body shall die and return to mother 



FUTURE RELIGION OF THE WORLD 277 

earth. Why not submit to that which is best with joy and say, '^Thy 
will be done," for the spirit cannot enter the spiritual world while in 
the body; but out of the body it will suffer no more pain or sorrow and 
will be with the heavenly hosts that have gone before. Whether 
death ends all or not, one thing is sure — that there is a Greater Being 
than man w^hom we call the Creator, the Uving God, and the destiny 
of man after the death of the body is with Him and not with the 
priests. 

THE DEAD 

The bodies of men are a product of the earth. When they are dead 
there is no intelligence, reason, soul, spirit, or germ of life in them. A 
live spirit, the immortal man, is not a dead body, but has eternal life, 
which never enters the grave. There cannot be anything to worship 
in a dead relic. Why should we worship those whom we have buried 
to keep them out of our sight? The priest who sends notices through 
the mails to poor widows and orphans that on a particular day he is 
going to pray for the dead and asks if he shall include a prayer for a 
deceased husband or father, naming the price, is a violator of the laws 
of the nation, and a swindler. 

When the spirit has left the body, it is too late for prayers; but of 
course the priests don't think so, because it would cut off some of 
their revenue. My dear bereaved friends, you should do your own 
praying direct to your Heavenly Father or through those who do not 
pray for money, and He will care for your dear ones who have passed 
to the other side of the river; but you should believe that He has done 
so already without your asking. The priests and ministers have no 
monopoly of the blessings of God, and have no right to engage in the 
business of peddling prayers, granting indulgences, and selling nothing 
for something. When I am dead I trust that my friends will let the 
flowers live or give them to the sick and afflicted, for the sweet smell 
may make them well. When I am dead they will be of no use to me 
any more than nice apples on a beautiful apple tree. The apples 
may be sweet, but I cannot eat. Dead men cannot sin. Beware of 
those whom you see who are called ghosts, or they may do you harm, 
for they are not the kind of which they make holy ghosts, but live 
men in disguise. 



278 THE BOOK OF TRUTH 

LIFE OR DEATH 

Live as long as you can in this world, for when you leave it you can 
never come back. Why should you want to die before your time? 
Bear your burden and afflictions like a man. Live for the sake of 
those who love you and are anxious for you to stay with them, and 
will mourn for you when you are gone. Do not give up the battle 
willingly; hold fast to life and be of good cheer. All things will work 
together for good. Whether you die or live out your natural days, all 
will be well. The same God who brought you into this world will 
care for you when you leave it. We all know that some time we must 
die, but those of us who are like good wheat, ripe for the harvest, 
should not borrow trouble about it on their own account. We may 
fear for the dear ones who are left behind, but should remember that 
some one has to go first to greet those who will follow to the land of 
bliss and happiness. 

DYING 

Dying, to those who suffer, is like going to sleep — it is rest, a relief, 
and a blessing. When the corn is ripe it is waiting to be harvested. 
When your dear ones are suffering great pain and are incurable, why 
should you ask God to let them stay here when you know that it is 
not His way? Good men cannot make the world better by dying, for 
their death is a loss to the community. It is only bad men who can 
do that; but if they would live a godly, sober, industrious life, they 
would be a blessing to mankind. It is as natural for people to be- 
lieve that death does not end all and that there is something beyond 
as it is for a fish to swim. With a belief in God our Creator we can 
look death in the face without fear. If we are just and righteous it 
will be as easy to die when our time comes as it is to go to sleep. If 
we are in pain and great distress we will be anxious and willing to go 
where there is no suffering, even if it is an everlasting sleep. We shall 
lose our fear of death before we die. Fear not. 

god's progressive church 

We trust that those who believe in God, a Greater and Higher Being 
than man, the Creator of all the worlds and the universe, our Heavenly 



FUTURE RELIGION OF THE WORLD 279 

Father and the only Saviour of the world, will in due time get together 
in every nation and kingdom and elect in each eleven seers, and estab* 
lish a progressive church which shall be a blessing to all mankind and 
posterity; the glory of God now and forevermore. Amen! 

FINAL 

If you find anything in this book that hurts your feelings and makes 
you more ungodly, you have my sympathy. 

If I have written anything which is not true and will make the 
world worse, I regret it; but if you find many things in this book which 
will make the world better, wiser, and more righteous, give all the 
praise and glory to God now and forevermore. 



THE END 



INDEX 



Absolution, 209 
Adam and Eve, 3 
Animals, 36 

Apostolic Succession, 210 
Arabia, 75 
Astronomy, 5 
Atonement, The, 117 

Bad Here, Bad There, 168 
Badge, The, 167 
Badness, 243 
Belief, 147 

Believe or Be Dammed, 214 
Bible, The, 57 
Body, The, 275 
Breeding Mankind, 11 
Briggs, Dr. Charles A., 145 
Brimstone in Heaven, 168 
Buddha, 69 
Buddha and Christ, 72 
Bimco Steerers, 243 
Burned at the Stake, 185 
Business Men, 168 
Butchery, 188 

Calvinism, 137 

CathoUc Church Dogmas, 189 

CathoHcs and Jews, 191 

Ceremonies, 167 

Charity, 242 

China, 74 

Children, 149 

Christ, 76 

Christ's Ascension, 87 

Christ's Birth, 83 

Christ, Blood of, 87 

Christ Only Cured Believers, 90 

Christ's Cures, 89 

Christ's Coming, 88 

Christ's Egotism, 90 

Christ's Enemies, 92 

Christ's Father, 91 

Christ's Grt>spel, 91 

Christ the Ransom, 93 



Christ's Sake, 93 
Christ, The Story of, 86 
Christ's Teachings, 89 
Christianity, 97 
Christianity a Drama, 100 
Christian Missionaries, 97 
Christian Science, 216 
Christians, Crimes of, 95 
Christians and Poison, 94 
Christianity, Original, 99 
Christianity Is Honorable, loi 
Church Dogmas, 103 
Church, Duty to the, 104 
Chiu*ch Reference, 105 
Church Membership, 104 
Church Pohtics, 105 
Church, The, loi 
Church Unity, 106 
Communion, 167 
Confession, 215 
Confucius, 73 
Crazy, 166 

Creation and Darwinism, 9 
Creator, Our, 13 
Cross, The, 166 

Dancing, 238 
Daniel, 46 
Death, 276 
Dead, The, 277 
Death, Life or, 278 
Devil, The, 146 
Devilishness, 240 
Divorce, 241 
Dreamers, 174 
Dress, Modesty in, 153 
Drones, The, 175 
Duty, 242 
Dying, 278 

Easter, 115 
Eternal Life, 274 
Eternity, 272 
Eucharist, 165 



281 



282 



INDEX 



Eunuchs, 165 

Evolution, 8 

Eyes, Save Your, 166 

Facts Unchangeable, 165 
Faith, 144 
Family Record, 163 
Fasting, 164 
Fish Fridays, 200 
Flowers, 164 
Foreign Missions, 75 
Freedom of Thought, 234 
Funeral, 275 
Final, 279 

GambHng, 236 

Geology, 8 

Ghosts, Holy, 117 

Giving, 170 

Giving and Begging, 234 

God, 16 

God Is God, 28 

God, the Christ, 20 

God and Goddess, 30 

God, Image of, 29 

God Still Lives, 22 

God, Who Made, 27 

God, Word of, 25, 68 

God Says Fear Not, 30 

Golden Rule, 236 

God, the Real, 28 

Godliness, 30, $^ 

God, Worship, 25 

God's Bible, 29 

God's Blessings, 31 

God's Fault, Not, 31 

Gods, Many, 24 

God's Money, 32 

God's Power, 23 

God's Progressive Church, 278 

God's Requirements, 24 

God's Wisdom, 26 

God's Laws, 27 

Good and Evil, 235 

Goodness, 119 

Good, How They Try to Make Men, 171 

Guides, 171 

Health, Good, 173 
Heart, The, 173 
Hell, 194 

Hereafter, Here and, 174 
Hearsay, 173 



Heaven, Keys of, 173 
Heretic, 172 
History, Ancient, 75 
Hospitals, 72 

Illusions, 163 

Images, 195 

ImmortaUty, 35 

Impartial, 234 

Infidels, 200 

InfaUible, 201 

Ingersoll, Col. Robert G., 163 

Institutions, Divine, 204 

Instruction, Early, 170 

Insanity, 170 

Inspiration, 143 

Intelligence, 162 

Indulgences, 204 

Jews, 47 

Jews and Jesus, 48 
Joan of Arc, 203 
Joshua, 49 
Jonah, 50 

Judgment Day, 230 
Justice, 229 

Killing Good Men to Save Bad Men, 233 
Kings and Priests, 204 

Ladder, Jacob's, 50 

Land, 57 

Laws, 233 

Laws of Maryland, 185 

Lent, 123 

Liberty, 141 

Lincoln and Slavery, 151 

Love, 140 

Luther, Martin, 202 

Louis XIV of France, 189 

Man, 10 

Men, Educated, 166 

Men, Great, 171 

Marriage, 138 

Mary, Queen, 186 

Martyrs, Roman CathoUc, 191 

Meeting Houses, 124 

Messiah, 106 

Messiahs, Fifteen, 107 

Mind, 153 

Ministers' Associations, 123 

Ministers, 122 



INDEX 



283 



Miracles, 21 

Miserable, 153 

Missionaries, 176 

Mohammed, 72 

Monarchs and the Pope, 205 

Monetarism, 215 

Monopoly and Honor, 240 

Morality, 176 

Mormonism, 175 

Monopoly, The Heavenly, 154 

Moses, 39 

Moses the Butcher, 44 

Moses and Evil, 45 

Moses and Joshua, 46 

Moses, The Law Commandments of, 41 

Moses and Women, 46 

Mother and Father, 152 

Mothers, Great Men's, 152 

Murderers, 186 

Murderer's Faith, 186 

Myths, 154 

Nature, 55 

New Testament, The, 227 
Non-existence, 154 
Nimneries, 205 

Obscene, 56 
Object, Our, 154 
Old Testament, The, 38 
Omnipotent Being, 56 
Orthodoxy, 120 

Pardon, 211 

Persecutions by Catholics, 182 

Peter, 211 

Planets, The, 6 

Pleasure, 155 

Pleasure in Godliness, 68 

Pope, The, 192 

Posterity, 155 

Prayer, 62 

Presbyterianism, 135 

Priests, 179 

Priests and Prayers, 191 

Priests and Wedlock^ 213 

Probation, 152 

Protestants' Consolation, 210 

Proverbs, 244 

Provide for the Future, 239 

Punishment, 183 

Punishment, Unjust, 232 



Purgatory, 192 
Puritans, The, 155 

Races, 56 

Reason, 161 

Redemption, 121 

Religion, 51 

Religions, Old, 54 

ReUgion of Rome, 212 

ReHgious Despots, 188 

Religious Liberty, 125, 240 

Religion, My, 126 

Religious Persecution, 187 

Religious Teachers, 122, 124 

Resurrection, 112 

Righteousness, 230 

Robbery, 215 

Robes, 216 

Roman Catholic Christianity, 177 

Romanism, Accept, or Die, 178 

Rulers, 162 

Sabbath, 128 

Sacrament, 207 

Sacrifice, 207 

Samson's Hair, 51 

Savonarola, 187 

Saviours, 93 

Seaworthy, 160 

Schools, Public, 239 

Sectarian Instruction, 148 

Science and Nature, 57 

St. Bartholomew Slaughter, 188 

Slander, 161 

Slavery, 151 

Sick, the Deathly, 33 

Sin, 130 

Sin, Forgiveness of, 197 

Sin, Original, 55 

Sin, Woman s, 143 

Snake Stories, 161 

Solomon, 51 

Spirit, The, 126 

Spirits, iMischievous, 169 

Spiritual Development, 169 

Spooks, 176 

Sport, Killing for, 156 

Stars, 8 

Stories, 156 

Substitutes, 74 

Subjection, 271 

Successors, 200 



284 



INDEX 



Sun, The, 7 
Swedenborg, 73 

Taxation and Education, 231 
Teachings, False, 196 
Temporal Power, 194 
Temptations, 123 
Thanksgiving, 122 
Tide, The, 8 
Toleration, 193 
Torture, 184 
Tradition, 157 
Translation, 158 
Trinity, The, 108 
Trouble, Borrowing, 157 
Truth, The, 132 



Ungodliness, 232 

Vaudeville Performance, 205 
Virgin Mary, no 
Visions, 158 

Warning, 158 

Weak, The, 159 

Weep Not, 159 

Wisdom, 159 

Wise, Be, 160 

Women and Idleness, 142 

Woman Suffrage, 244 

World, The, 12 

Worship, 157 

Worlds Were, Was Before the 37 




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